IRLF 


ANS 

ANDERSEN'S 
FAIRY  TALES 

FIRST  SERIES 


gINN  AND  COMPANY^ 


THE  LIST  TRICE 


GIFT  OF 
-LINQUIST 


EDUCATION  DEPT. 


Hans  Andersen's 

••  • 

Fairy  Tales 


Rrst  Series 


&dited  by 
J.H.Stickney 


Illustrated  by  Edna  F.  Hart 


Ginn  and  Company 

Boston  -  New  York  ~  Chicago   —  London 


COPYRIGHT,  \886,"  1914,  BY  J.  H.  STICKNEY 
'«.•    !*;**,*lL   RIGHXS   RESERVED 


914.10 


Gift 

R.D.  LINGUIST 

EDUCATION  DEPT. 


gtftengum 


GINN  AND  COMPANY  •  PRO- 
PRIETORS  •  BOSTON  •  U.S.A. 


.   E6  I 

v,  / 


a->C<y 


PREFACE 


The  Hans  Andersen  Fairy  Tales  will  be  read 
in  schools  and  homes  as  long  as  there  are  children 
who  love  to  read.  As  a  story-teller  for  children  the 
author  has  no  rival  in  power  to  enlist  the  imagi- 
nation and  carry  it  along  natural,  healthful  lines. 
The  power  of  his  tales  to  charm  and  elevate  runs 
like  a  living  thread  through  whatever  he  writes. 
In  the  two  books  in  which  they  are  here  presented 
they  have  met  the  tests  and  held  an  undiminish- 
ing  popularity  among  the  best  children's  books. 
They  are  recognized  as  standards,  and  as  juvenile 
writings  come  to  be  more  carefully  standardized, 
their  place  in  permanent  literature  will  grow 
wider  and  more  secure.  A  few  children's  authors 
will  be  ranked  among  the  Immortals,  and  Hans 
Andersen  is  one  of  them. 

Denmark  and  Finland  supplied  the  natural 
background  for  the  quaint  fancies  and  growing 
genius  of  their  gifted  son,  who  was  story-teller, 
playwright,  and  poet  in  one.  Love  of  nature,  love 

[iii] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

of  country,  fellow-feeling  with  life  in  everything, 
and  a  wonderful  gift  for  investing  everything  with 
life  wrought  together  to  produce  in  him  a  char- 
acter whose  spell  is  in  all  his  writings.  "  The  Story 
of  My  Life  "  is  perhaps  the  most  thrilling  of  all  of 
them.  Recognized  in  courts  of  kings  and  castles 
of  nobles,  he  recited  his  little  stories  with  the  same 
simplicity  by  which  he  had  made  them  familiar 
in  cottages  of  the  peasantry,  and  endeared  himself 
alike  to  all  who  listened.  These  attributes,  while 
they  do  not  account  for  his  genius,  help  us  to  un- 
ravel the  charm  of  it.  The  simplest  of  the  stories 
meet  Ruskin's  requirement  for  a  child's  story  — 
they  are  sweet  and  sad. 

From  most  writers  who  have  contributed  largely 
to  children's  literature  only  a  few  selected  gems 
are  likely  to  gain  permanence.  With  Andersen  the 
case  is  different.  While  there  are  such  gems,  the 
greater  value  lies  in  taking  these  stories  as  a  type 
of  literature  and  living  in  it  a  while,  through  the 
power  of  cumulative  reading.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  there  is  a  temper  and  spirit  in  Ander- 
sen which  is  all  his  own  —  a  simple  philosophy 
which  continuous  reading  is  sure  to  impart.  For 
this  reason  these  are  good  books  for  a  child  to 
own ;  an  occasional  re-reading  will  inspire  in  him 

[iv] 


PREFACE 

•  > 

a  healthy,  normal  taste  in  reading.  Many  of  the 
stories  are  of  value  to  read  to  very  young  children. 
They  guide  an  exuberant  imagination  along  nat- 
ural channels. 

The  text  of  the  present  edition  is  a  reprint  of 
an  earlier  one  which  was  based  upon  a  sentence- 
by-sentence  comparison  of  the  four  or  five  transla- 
tions current  in  Europe  and  America.  It  has  been 
widely  commended  as  enjoyable  reading,  while 
faithful  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  Danish 
original.  A  slight  abridgment  has  been  made  in 
two  of  the  longer  stories.  The  order  of  the  selec- 
tions adapts  the  reading  to  the  growing  child  — 
the  First  Series  should  be  sufficiently  easy  for 
children  of  about  eight  or  nine  years  old. 

J.  H.  STICKNEY 


[v] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  FIR  TREE     .      ...      .      .      .     .....      .      .      .  .  ,  I 

LITTLE  TUK    ................      .  2O 

THE  UGLY  DUCKLING .  30 

LITTLE  IDA'S  FLOWERS 52 

THE  STEADFAST  TIN  SOLDIER 67 

LITTLE  THUMBELINA        .......      .      ....  77 

SUNSHINE  STORIES       ...      .      .      .      .     .    -,     .     .     ".      .      .  IOI 

THE  DARNING-NEEDLE    .      .      .      .      .      „      .-.    .      .      .      .      .  109 

THE  LITTLE  MATCH  GIRL    ...      ......      .      .      .  117 

THE  LOVING  PAIR .      .      .      ....      .  124 

THE  LEAPING  MATCH        .  "'.  -  .      .      .      ...      .      .      .    -.  129 

THE  HAPPY  FAMILY 134 

THE  GREENIES *      .      .  141 

OLE-LUK-OIE,  THE  DREAM  GOD 145 

THE  MONEY  BOX 169 

ELDER-TREE  MOTHER      .      ...      .      .      .      .      .      ..«      .  174 

THE  SNOW  QUEEN  .      .      ,      .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .  - -»      .      .  192 

THE  ROSES  AND  THE  SPARROWS        .      .      .      .      r     .      .      .  253 

THE  OLD  HOUSE       .      .     .     ,     ,     .     .     ..     .    .,     .;«...      .  273 

THE  CONCEITED  APPLE  BRANCH       .      .      .      .     ....  290 

NOTES 299 

[vii] 


T 


foey  danced   merrily 

ooo          abound  the 


HANS  ANDERSEN'S  FAIRYTALES 


THE  FIR  TREE 

away  in  the  forest,  where  the  warm  sun 
and  the  fresh  air  made  a  sweet  resting 
J_L  place,  grew  a  pretty  little  fir  tree.  The 
situation  was  all  that  could  be  desired;  and  yet 
the  tree  was  not  happy,  it  wished  so  much  to  be 
like  its  tall  companions,  the  pines  and  firs  which 
grew  around  it. 

The  sun  shone,  and  the  soft  air  fluttered  its 
leaves,  and  the  little  peasant  children  passed  by, 
prattling  merrily;  but  the  fir  tree  did  not  heed 
them. 

Sometimes  the  children  would  bring  a  large 
basket  of  raspberries  or  strawberries,  wreathed  on 


FAIRY  TALES 


straws,  and  seat  themselves  near  the  fir  tree,  and 
say,  "  Is  it  not  a  pretty  little  tree  ?  "  which  made 
it  feel  even  more  unhappy  than  before. 

And  yet  all  this  while  the  tree  grew  a  notch  or 
joint  taller  every  year,  for  by  the  number  of  joints 
in  the  stem  of  a  fir  tree  we  can  discover  its  age. 

Still,  as  it  grew,  it  complained  :  "Oh  !  how  I  wish 
I  were  as  tall  as  the  other  trees;  then  I  would 
spread  out  my  branches  on  every  side,  and  my 
crown  would  overlook  the  wide  world  around.  I 
should  have  the  birds  building  their  nests  on  my 
boughs,  and  when  the  wind  blew,  I  should  bow 
with  stately  dignity,  like  my  tall  companions." 

So  discontented  was  the  tree,  that  it  took  no 
pleasure  in  the  warm  sunshine,  the  birds,  or  the 
rosy  clouds  that  floated  over  it  morning  and 
evening. 

Sometimes  in  winter,  when  the  snow  lay  white 
and  glittering  on  the  ground,  there  was  a  little 
hare  that  would  come  springing  along,  and  jump 
right  over  the  little  tree's  head  ;  then  how  mor- 
tified it  would  feel. 

Two  winters  passed  ;  and  when  the  third 
arrived,  the  tree  had  grown  so  tall  that  the  hare 


THE    FIR    TREE 

was  obliged  to  run  round  it.  Yet  it  remained 
unsatisfied  and  would  exclaim :  "  Oh !  to  grow,  to 
grow;  if  I  could  but  keep  on  growing  tall  and 
old !  There  is  nothing  else  worth  caring  for  in 
the  world." 

In  the  autumn  the  woodcutters  came,  as  usual, 
and  cut  down  several  of  the  tallest  trees;  and  the 
young  fir,  which  was  now. grown  to  a  good,  full 
height,  shuddered  as  the  noble  trees  fell  to  the 
earth  with  a  crash. 

After  the  branches  were  lopped  off,  the  trunks 
looked  so  slender  and  bare  that  they  could 
scarcely  be  recognized.  Then  they  were  placed, 
one  upon  another,  upon  wagons  and  drawn  by 
horses  out  of  the  forest.  Where  could  they  be 
going  ?  What  wrould  become  of  them  ?  The 
young  fir  tree  wished  very  much  to  know. 

So  in  the  spring,  when  the  swallows  and  the 
storks  came,  it  asked :  "  Do  you  know  where 
those  trees  were  taken  ?  Did  you  meet  them  ? " 

The  swallows  knew  nothing;  but  the  stork, 
after  a  little  reflection,  nodded  his  head  and 
said :  "  Yes,  I  think  I  do.  As  I  flew  from  Egypt, 
I  met  several  new  ships,  and  they  had  fine  masts 

[3] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

that  smelt  like  fir.  These  must  have  been  the 
trees;  and  I  assure  you  they  were  stately;  they 
sailed  right  gloriously !  " 

"  Oh,  how  I  wish  I  were  tall  enough  to  go  on 
the  sea,"  said  the  fir  tree.  "  Tell  me  what  is  this 
sea,  and  what  does  it  look  like  ? " 

"  It  would  take  too  much  time  to  explain  — 
a  great  deal  too  much,"  said  the  stork,  flying 
quickly  away. 

"  Rejoice  in  thy  youth,"  said  the  sunbeam ; 
"  rejoice  in  thy  fresh  growth  and  in  the  young 
life  that  is  in  thee." 

And  the  wind  kissed  the  tree,  and  the  dew 
watered  it  with  tears,  but  the  fir  tree  regarded 
them  not. 

Christmas  time  drew  near,  and  many  young 
trees  were  cut  down,  some  that  were  even  smaller 
and  younger  than  the  fir  tree,  who  enjoyed  neither 
rest  nor  peace  for  longing  to  leave  its  forest 
home.  These  young  trees,  which  were  chosen  for 
their  beauty,  kept  their  branches,  and  they,  also, 
were  laid  on  wagons  and  drawn  by  horses  far 
away  out  of  the  forest. 

[4] 


THE    FIR    TREE 

"  Where  are  they  going  ? "  asked  the  fir  tree. 
"They  are  not  taller  than  I  am;  indeed,  one  is 
not  so  tall.  And  why  do  they  keep  all  their 
branches?  Where  are  they  going?" 

"  We  know,  we  know,"  sang  the  sparrows ; 
"we  have  looked  in  at  the  windows  of  the 
houses  in  the  town,  and  we  know  what  is  done 
with  them.  Oh !  you  cannot  think  what  honor 
and  glory  they  receive.  They  are  dressed  up  in 
the  most  splendid  manner.  We  have  seen  them 
standing  in  the  middle  of  a  warm  room,  and 
adorned  with  all  sorts  of  beautiful  things  - 
honey  cakes,  gilded  apples,  playthings,  and  many 
hundreds  of  wax  tapers." 

"And  then,"  asked  the  fir  tree,  trembling  in  all 
its  branches,  "  and  then  what  happens  ? " 

"  We  did  not  see  any  more,"  said  the  sparrows ; 
"  but  this  was  enough  for  us." 

"  I  wonder  whether  anything  so  brilliant  will 
ever  happen  to  me,"  thought  the  fir  tree.  "It 
would  be  better  even  than  crossing  the  sea.  I 
long  for  it  almost  with  pain.  Oh,  when  will 
Christmas  be  here  ?  I  am  now  as  tall  and  well 
grown  as  those  which  were  taken  away  last  year. 

[5] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

O  that  I  were  now  laid  on  the  wagon,  or  stand- 
ing in  the  warm  room  with  all  that  brightness 
and  splendor  around  me  !  Something  better  and 
more  beautiful  is  to  come  after,  or  the  trees 
would  not  be  so  decked  out.  Yes,  what  follows 
will  be  grander  and  more  splendid.  What  can 
it  be  ?  I  am  weary  with  longing.  I  scarcely 
know  what  it  is  that  I  feel." 

"  Rejoice  in  our  love,"  said  the  air  and  the 
sunlight.  "  Enjoy  thine  own  bright  life  in  the 
fresh  air." 

But  the  tree  would  not  rejoice,  though  it  grew 
taller  every  day,  and  winter  and  summer  its  dark- 
green  foliage  might  be  seen  in  the  forest,  while 
passers-by  would  say,  "  What  a  beautiful  tree ! " 

A  short  time  before  the  next  Christmas  the 
discontented  fir  tree  was  the  first  to  fall.  As 
the  ax  cut  sharply  through  the  stem  and  divided 
the  pith,  the  tree  fell  with  a  groan  to  the  earth, 
conscious  of  pain  and  faintness  and  forgetting 
all  its  dreams  of  happiness  in  sorrow  at  leaving 
its  home  in  the  forest.  It  knew  that  it  should 
never  again  see  its  dear  old  companions  the 
trees,  nor  the  little  bushes  and  many-colored 

[6] 


THE    FIR    TREE 

flowers  that  had  grown  by  its  side ;  perhaps  not 
even  the  birds.  Nor  was  the  journey  at  all 
pleasant. 

The  tree  first  recovered  itself  while  being  un- 
packed in  the  courtyard  of  a  house,  with  several 
other  trees ;  and  it  heard  a  man  say :  "  We  only 
want  one,  and  this  is  the  prettiest.  This  is 
beautiful ! " 

Then  came  two  servants  in  grand  livery  and 
carried  the  fir  tree  into  a  large  and  beautiful 
apartment.  Pictures  hung  on  the  walls,  and  near 
the  tall  tile  stove  stood  great  china  vases  with 
lions  on  the  lids.  There  were  rocking-chairs, 
silken  sofas,  and  large  tables  covered  with  pic- 
tures; and  there  were  books,  and  playthings  that 
had  cost  a  hundred  times  a  hundred  dollars  — 
at  least  so  said  the  children. 

Then  the  fir  tree  was  placed  in  a  large  tub 
full  of  sand  —  but  green  baize  hung  all  round  it 
so  that  no  one  could  know  it  was  a  tub- — and 
it  stood  on  a  very  handsome  carpet.  Oh,  how  the 
fir  tree  trembled !  What  was  going  to  happen 
to  him  now  ?  Some  young  ladies  came,  and  the 
servants  helped  them  to  adorn  the  tree. 

[7] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

On  one  branch  they  hung  little  bags  cut  out 
of  colored  paper,  and  each  bag  was  rilled  with 
sweetmeats.  From  other  branches  hung  gilded 
apples  and  walnuts,  as  if  they  had  grown  there; 
and  above  and  all  around  were  hundreds  of  red, 
blue,  and  white  tapers,  which  were  fastened  upon 
the  branches.  Dolls,  exactly  like  real  men  and 
women,  were  placed  under  the  green  leaves, — 
the  tree  had  never  seen  such  things  before, — and 
at  the  very  top  was  fastened  a  glittering  star 
made  of  gold  tinsel.  Oh,  it  was  very  beautiful. 
"This  evening,"  they  all  exclaimed,  "how  bright 
it  will  be!" 

"  O  that  the  evening  were  come,"  thought  the 
tree,  "  and  the  tapers  lighted !  Then  I  shall  know 
what  else  is  going  to  happen.  Will  the  trees  of 
the  forest  come  to  see  me  ?  Will  the  sparrows 
peep  in  at  the  windows,  I  wonder,  as  they  fly  ? 
Shall  I  grow  faster  here  than  in  the  forest,  and 
shall  I  keep  on  all  these  ornaments  during  sum- 
mer and  winter  ? "  But  guessing  was  of  very 
little  use.  His  back  ached  with  trying,  and  this 
pain  is  as  bad  for  a  slender  fir  tree  as  headache 
is  for  us. 

[8] 


THE    FIR    TREE 

At  last  the  tapers  were  lighted,  and  then  what 
a  glistening  blaze  of  splendor  the  tree  presented ! 
It  trembled  so  with  joy  in  all  its  branches  that 
one  of  the  candles  fell  among  the  green  leaves 
and  burned  some  of  them.  "  Help !  help ! "  ex- 
claimed the  young  ladies ;  but  no  harm  was  done, 
for  they  quickly  extinguished  the  fire. 

After  this  the  tree  tried  not  to  tremble  at  all, 
though  the  fire  frightened  him,  he  was  so  anxious 
not  to  hurt  any  of  the  beautiful  ornaments,  even 
while  their  brilliancy  dazzled  him. 

And  now  the  folding  doors  were  thrown  open, 
and  a  troop  of  children  rushed  in  as  if  they  in- 
tended to  upset  the  tree,  and  were  followed  more 
slowly  by  their  elders.  For  a  moment  the  little 
ones  stood  silent  with  astonishment,  and  then 
they  shouted  for  joy  till  the  room  rang;  and 
they  danced  merrily  round  the  tree  while  one 
present  after  another  was  taken  from  it. 

"  What  are  they  doing  ?  What  will  happen 
next  ? "  thought  the  tree.  At  last  the  candles 
burned  down  to  the  branches  and  were  put  out. 
Then  the  children  received  permission  to  plunder 
the  tree. 

[9] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

Oh,  how  they  rushed  upon  it !  There  was  such 
a  riot  that  the  branches  cracked,  and  had  it  not 
been  fastened  with  the  glistening  star  to  the 
ceiling,  it  must  have  been  thrown  down. 

Then  the  children  danced  about  with  their 
pretty  toys,  and  no  one  noticed  the  tree  except 
the  children's  maid,  who  came  and  peeped  among 
the  branches  to  see  if  an  apple  or  a  fig  had  been 
forgotten. 

"A  story,  a  story,"  cried  the  children,  pulling 
a  little  fat  man  towards  the  tree. 

"  Now  we  shall  be  in  the  green  shade,"  said 
the  man  as  he  seated  himself  under  it,  "and  the 
tree  will  have  the  pleasure  of  hearing,  also;  but 
I  shall  only  relate  one  story.  What  shall  it  be  ? 
Ivede-Avede  or  Humpty  Dumpty,  who  fell  down- 
stairs, but  soon  got  up  again,  and  at  last  married 
a  princess  ?  " 

"  Ivede-Avede," cried  some ;  "Humpty Dumpty," 
cried  others;  and  there  was  a  famous  uproar. 
But  the  fir  tree  remained  quite  still  and  thought 
to  himself :  "  Shall  I  have  anything  to  do  with 
all  this?  Ought  I  to  make  a  noise,  too?"  but 

[10] 


THE    FIR    TREE 

he  had  already  amused  them  as  much  as  they 
wished  and  they  paid  no  attention  to  him. 

Then  the  old  man  told  them  the  story  of 
Humpty  Dumpty  —  how  he  fell  downstairs,  and 
was  raised  up  again,  and  married  a  princess. 
And  the  children  clapped  their  hands  and  cried, 
"  Tell  another,  tell  another,"  for  they  wanted  to 
hear  the  story  of  Ivede-Avede ;  but  this  time  they 
had  only  "  Humpty  Dumpty."  After  this  the  fir 
tree  became  quite  silent  and  thoughtful.  Never 
had  the  birds  in  the  forest  told  such  tales  as  that 
of  Humpty  Dumpty,  who  fell  downstairs,  and  yet 
married  a  princess. 

"Ah,  yes !  so  it  happens  in  the  world,"  thought 
the  fir  tree.  He  believed  it  all,  because  it  was 
related  by  such  a  pleasant  man. 

"Ah,  well!"  he  thought,  "who  knows?  Per- 
haps I  may  fall  down,  too,  and  marry  a  prin- 
cess ; "  and  he  looked  forward  joyfully  to  the 
next  evening,  expecting  to  be  again  decked  out 
with  lights  and  playthings,  gold  and  fruit.  "To- 
morrow I  will  not  tremble,"  thought  he ;  "  I  will 
enjoy  all  my  splendor,  and  I  shall  hear  the 
story  of  Humpty  Dumpty  again,  and  perhaps  of 

[ii] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

Ivede-Avede."  And  the  tree  remained  quiet  and 
thoughtful  all  night. 

In  the  morning  the  servants  and  the  house- 
maid came  in.  "Now,"  thought  the  fir  tree,  "all 
my  splendor  is  going  to  begin  again."  But  they 
dragged  him  out  of  the  room  and  upstairs  to  the 
garret  and  threw  him  on  the  floor  in  a  dark 
corner  where  no  daylight  shone,  and  there  they 
left  him.  "  What  does  this  mean  ? "  thought  the 
tree.  "  What  am  I  to  do  here  ?  I  can  hear 
nothing  in  a  place  like  this ; "  and  he  leaned 
against  the  wall  and  thought  and  thought. 

And  he  nad  time  enough  to  think,  for  days 
and  nights  passed  and  no  one  came  near  him ; 
and  when  at  last  somebody  did  come,  it  was  only 
to  push  away  some  large  boxes  in  a  corner.  So 
the  tree  was  completely  hidden  from  sight,  as  if 
it  had  never  existed. 

"It  is  winter  now,"  thought  the  tree ;  " the 
ground  is  hard  and  covered  with  snow,  so  that 
people  cannot  plant  me.  I  shall  be  sheltered  here, 
I  dare  say,  until  spring  comes.  How  thoughtful 
and  kind  everybody  is  to  me !  Still,  I  wish  this 
place  were  not  so  dark  and  so  dreadfully  lonely, 

[12] 


F^ 


Q 


him  on  the  floot»  °  <•  «  «  « 
tlier^e  tlicy  left  him  <> 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TABLES 

with  not  even  a  little  hare  to  look  at.  How 
pleasant  it  was  out  in  the  forest  while  the  snow 
lay  on  the  ground,  when  the  hare  would  run  by, 
yes,  and  jump  over  me,  too,  although  I  did  not 
like  it  then.  Oh !  it  is  terribly  lonely  here." 

"  Squeak,  squeak,"  said  a  little  mouse,  creeping 
cautiously  towards  the  tree ;  then  came  another, 
and  they  both  sniffed  at  the  fir  tree  and  crept 
in  and  out  between  the  branches. 

"  Oh,  it  is  very  cold,"  said  the  little  mouse. 
"  If  it  were  not  we  should  be  very  comfortable 
here,  shouldn't  we,  old  fir  tree?" 

"  I  am  not  old,"  said  the  fir  tree.  "  There  are 
many  who  are  older  than  I  am." 

"  Where  do  you  come  from  ? "  asked  the  mice, 
who  were  full  of  curiosity;  "and  what  do  you 
know?  Have  you  seen  the  most  beautiful  places 
in  the  world,  and  can  you  tell  us  all  about  them  ? 
And  have  you  been  in  the  storeroom,  where 
cheeses  lie  on  the  shelf  and  hams  hang  from 
the  ceiling  ?  One  can  run  about  on  tallow  candles 
there ;  one  can  go  in  thin  and  come  out  fat." 

"  I  know  nothing  of  that,"  said  the  fir  tree, 
"but  I  know  the  wood,  where  the  sun  shines 

[14] 


THE  F IK  TREE   - 

» 

and  the  birds  sing."  And  then  the  tree  told  the 
little  mice  all  about  its  youth.  They  had  never 
heard  such  an  account  in  their  lives ;  and  after 
they  had  listened  to  it  attentively,  they  said : 
"  What  a  number  of  things  you  have  seen !  You 
must  have  been  very  happy." 

"Happy!"  exclaimed  the  fir  tree;  and  then,  as 
he  reflected  on  what  he  had  been  telling  them,  he 
said,  "Ah,  yes!  after  all,  those  were  happy  days." 
But  when  he  went  on  and  related  all  about 
Christmas  Eve,  and  how  he  had  been  dressed 
up  with  cakes  and  lights,  the  mice  said,  "  How 
happy  you  must  have  been,  you  old  fir  tree." 

"I  am  not  old  at  all,"  replied  the  tree;  "I 
only  came  from  the  forest  this  winter.  I  am 
now  checked  in  my  growth." 

"  What  splendid  stories  you  can  tell,"  said  the 
little  mice.  And  the  next  night  four  other  mice 
came  with  them  to  hear  what  the  tree  had  to 
tell.  The  more  he  talked  the  more  he  remem- 
bered, and  then  he  thought  to  himself :  "  Yes, 
those  were  happy  days;  but  they  may  come 
again.  Humpty  Dumpty  fell  downstairs,  and  yet 
he  married  the  princess.  Perhaps  I  may  marry 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

a  princess,  too."  And  the  fir  tree  thought  of  the 
pretty  little  birch  tree  that  grew  in  the  forest ;  a 
real  princess,  a  beautiful  princess,  she  was  to  him. 

"Who  is  Humpty  Dumpty?"  asked  the  little 
mice.  And  then  the  tree  related  the  whole  story ; 
he  could  remember  every  single  word.  And  the 
little  mice  were  so  delighted  with  it  that  they 
were  ready  to  jump  to  the  top  of  the  tree.  The 
next  night  a  great  many  more  mice  made  their 
appearance,  and  on  Sunday  two  rats  came  with 
them ;  but  the  rats  said  it  was  not  a  pretty  story 
at  all,  and  the  little  mice  were  very  sorry,  for  it 
made  them  also  think  less  of  it. 

"  Do  .you  know  only  that  one  story?"  asked 
the  rats. 

"  Only  that  one,"  replied  the  fir  tree.  "  I  heard 
it  on  the  happiest  evening  in  my  life ;  but  I  did 
not  know  I  was  so  happy  at  the  time." 

"  We  think  it  is  a  very  miserable  story/'  said 
the .  rats.  *  "  Don't  you  know  any  story  about 
bacon  or  tallow  in  the  storeroom?" 

"  No,"  replied  the  tree. 

"  Many  thanks  to  you,  then,"  replied  the  rats, 
and  they  went  their  ways. 

[16] 


THE    FIR   TREE 

The  little  mice  also  kept  away  after  this,  and 
the  tree  sighed  and  said :  "  It  was  very  pleasant 
when  the  merry  little  mice  sat  round  me  and 
listened  while  I  talked.  Now  that  is  all  past,  too. 
However,  I  shall  consider  myself  happy  when 
some  one  comes  to  take  me  out  of  this  place." 

But  would  this  ever  happen  ?  Yes ;  one 
morning  people  came  to  clear  up  the  garret ; 
the  boxes  were  packed  away,  and  the  tree  was 
pulled  out  of  the  corner  and  thrown  roughly 
on  the  floor;  then  the  servants  dragged  it  out 
upon  the  staircase,  where  the  daylight  shone. 

"  Now  life  is  beginning  again,"  said  the  tree, 
rejoicing  in  the  sunshine  and  fresh  air.  Then 
it  was  carried  downstairs  and  taken  into  the 
courtyard  so  quickly  that  it  forgot  to  think  of 
itself  and  could  only  look  about,  there  was  so 
much  to  be  seen. 

The  court  was  close  to  a  garden,  where  every- 
thing looked  blooming.  Fresh  and  fragrant  roses 
hung  over  the  little  palings.  The  linden  trees 
were  in  blossom,  while  swallows  flew  here  and 
there,  crying,  "  Twit,  twit,  twit,  my  mate  is  com- 
ing "  ;  but  it  was  not  the  fir  tree  they  meant. 

[•7] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"  Now  I  shall  live,"  cried  the  tree  joyfully, 
spreading  out  its  branches ;  but  alas !  they  were 
all  withered  and  yellow,  and  it  lay  in  a  corner 
among  weeds  and  nettles.  The  star  of  gold 
paper  still  stuck  in  the  top  of  the  tree  and 
glittered  in  the  sunshine. 

Two  of  the  merry  children  who  had  danced 
round  the  tree  at  Christmas  and  had  been  so 
happy  were  playing  in  the  same  courtyard.  The 
youngest  saw  the  gilded  star  and  ran  and  pulled 
it  off  the  tree.  "  Look  what  is  sticking  to  the 
ugly  old  fir  tree,"  said  the  child,  treading  on  the 
branches  till  they  crackled  under  his  boots. 

And  the  tree  saw  all  the  fresh,  bright  flowers 
in  the  garden  and  then  looked  at  itself  and 
wished  it  had  remained  in  the  dark  corner  of 
the  garret.  It  thought  of  its  fresh  youth  in  the 
forest,  of  the  merry  Christmas  evening,  and  of 
the  little  mice  who  had  listened  to  the  story  of 
Humpty  Dumpty. 

"  Past !  past !  "  said  the  poor  tree.  "  Oh,  had  I 
but  enjoyed  myself  while  I  could  have  done  so ! 
but  now  it  is  too  late." 

Then  a  lad  came  and  chopped  the  tree  into 
[18] 


THE    FIR    TREE 

small  pieces,  till  a  large  bundle  lay  in  a  heap 
on  the  ground.  The  pieces  were  placed  in  a  fire, 
and  they  quickly  blazed  up  brightly,  while  the 
tree  sighed  so  deeply  that  each  sigh  was  like  a 
little  pistol  shot.  Then  the  children  who  were 
at  play  came  and  seated  themselves  in  front  of 
the  fire,  and  looked  at  it  and  cried,  "  Pop,  pop." 
But  at  each  "  pop,"  which  was  a  deep  sigh,  the 
tree  was  thinking  of  a  summer  day  in  the  forest 
or  of  some  winter  night  there  when  the  stars 
shone  brightly,  and  of  Christmas  evening,  and 
of  Humpty  Dumpty, —  the  only  story  it  had  ever 
heard  or  knew  how  to  relate,  —  till  at  last  it 
was  consumed. 

The  boys  still  played  in  the  garden,  and  the 
youngest  wore  on  his  breast  the  golden  star 
with  which  the  tree  had  been  adorned  during 
the  happiest  evening  of  its  existence.  Now  all 
was  past;  the  tree's  life  was  past  and  the  story 
also  past  —  for  all  stories  must  come  to  an  end 
at  some  time  .or  other. 


LITTLE  TUK 

TTITTLE  TUK!  An  odd  name,  to  be  sure! 
However,  it  was  not  the  little  boy's  real 
J  • — 4  name.  His  real  name  was  Carl ;  but  when 
he  was  so  young  that  he  could  not  speak  plainly, 
he  used  to  call  himself  Tuk.  It  would  be  hard  to 
say  why,  for  it  is  not  at  all  like  "  Carl  "  ;  but  the 
name  does  as  well  as  any,  if  one  only  knows  it. 

Little  Tuk  was  left  at  home  to  take  care  of 
his  sister  Gustava,  who  was  much  younger  than 
himself;  and  he  had  also  to  learn  his  lesson. 
Here  were  two  things  to  be  done  at  the  same 
time,  and  they  did  not  at  all  suit  each  other. 
The  poor  boy  sat  with  his  sister  in  his  lap,  sing- 
ing to  her  all  the  songs  he  knew,  yet  giving, 
now  and  then,  a  glance  into  his  geography,  which 
lay  open  beside  him.  By  to-morrow  morning  he 

[20] 


LITTLE   TUK 

must  know  the  names  of  all  the  towns  in  Seeland 
by  heart,  and  be  able  to  tell  about  them  all  that 
could  be  told. 

His  mother  came  at  last,  and  took  little  Gus- 
tava  in  her  arms.  Tuk  ran  quickly  to  the  win- 
dow and  read  and  read  till  he  had  almost  read 
his  eyes  out  —  for  it  was  growing  dark,  and  his 
mother  could  not  afford  to  buy  candles. 

"  There  goes  the  old  washerwoman  down  the 
lane,"  said  the  mother,  as  she  looked  out  of  the 
window.  "She  can  hardly  drag  herself  along, 
poor  thing ;  and  now  she  has  to  carry  that  heavy 
pail  from  the  pump.  Be  a  good  boy,  little  Tuk, 
and  run  across  to  help  the  poor  creature,  will 
you  not  ? "  And  little  Tuk  ran  quickly  and 
helped  to  bear  the  weight  of  the  pail.'  But  when 
he  came  back  into  the  room,  it  was  quite  dark. 
Nothing  was  said  about  a  candle,  and  it  was  of 
no  use  to  wish  for  one;  he  must  go  to  his  little 
trundle-bed,  which  was  made  of  an  old  settle. 

There  he  lay,  still  thinking  of  the  geography 
lesson,  of  Seeland,  and  of  all  that  the  master 
had  said.  He  could  not  read  the  book  again, 
as  he  should  by  rights  have  done,  for  want  of 

[21] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

a  light.  So  he  put  the  geography-book  under 
his  pillow.  Somebody  had  once  told  him  that 
would  help  him  wonderfully  to  remember  his 
lesson,  but  he  had  never  yet  found  that  one 
could  depend  upon  it. 

.  There  he  lay  and  thought  and  thought,  till 
all  at  once  he  felt  as  though  some  one  were 
gently  sealing  his  mouth  and  eyes  with  a  kiss. 
He  slept  and  yet  did  not  sleep,  for  he  seemed 
to  see  the  old  washerwoman's  mild,  kind  eyes 
fixed  upon  him,  and  to  hear  her  say:  "It  would 
be  a  shame,  indeed,  for  you  not  to  know  your  les- 
son to-morrow,  little  Tuk.  You  helped  me ;  now 
I  will  help  you,  and  our  Lord  will  help  us  both." 

All  at  once  the  leaves  of  the  book  began  to 
rustle  under  little  Tuk's  head,  and  he  heard  some- 
thing crawling  about  under  his  pillow. 

"Cluck,  cluck,  cluck!"  cried  a  hen,  as  she  crept 
towards  him.  (She  came  from  the  town  of  Kjoge.) 
"  I  'm  a  Kjoge  hen,"  she  said.  And  then  she  told 
him  how  many  inhabitants  the  little  town  con- 
tained, and  about  the  battle  that  had  once  been 
fought  there,  and  how  it  was  now  hardly  worth 
mentioning,  there  were  so  many  greater  things.- 

[22] 


11  in  &,  moment  lie  wa*s  on 

on  fee  went, 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

Scratch,  scratch !  kribbley  crabbley !  and  now 
a  great  wooden  bird  jumped  down  upon  the  bed. 
It  was  the  popinjay  from  the  shooting  ground  at 
Praesto.  He  had  reckoned  the  number  of  inhabi- 
tants in  Praesto,  and  found  that  there  were  as 
many  as  he  had  nails  in  his  body.  He  was  a 
proud  bird.  '  Thorvaldsen  lived  in  one  corner 
of  Praesto,  close  by  me.  Am  I  not  a  pretty  bird, 
a  merry  popinjay  ?  " 

And  now  little  Tuk  no  longer  lay  in  bed.  All 
in  a  moment  he  was  on  horseback,  and  on  he 
went,  gallop,  gallop !  A  splendid  knight,  with  a 
bright  helmet  and  waving  plume,  —  a  knight  of 
the  olden  time,  —  held  him  on  his  own  horse ; 
and  on  they  rode  together,  through  the  wood  of 
the  ancient  city  of  Vordingborg,  and  it  was  once 
again  a  great  and  busy  town.  The  high  towers 
of  the  king's  castle  rose  against  the  sky,  and 
bright  lights  were  seen  gleaming  through  the 
windows.  Within  were  music  and  merrymaking. 
King  Waldemar  was  leading  out  the  noble  ladies 
of  his  court  to  dance  with  him. 

Suddenly  the  morning  dawned,  the  lamps  grew 
pale,  the  sun  rose,  the  outlines  of  the  buildings 

[24] 


LITTLE    TUK 

faded  away,  and  at  last  one  high  tower  alone 
remained  to  mark  the  spot  where  the  royal  castle 
had  stood.  The  vast  city  had  shrunk  into  a  poor, 
mean-looking  little  town.  The  schoolboys,  coming 
out  of  school  with  their  geography-books  under 
their  arms,  said,  "  Two  thousand  inhabitants " ; 
but  that  was  a  mere  boast,  for  the  town  had 
not  nearly  so  many. 

And  little  Tuk  lay  in  his  bed.  He  knew  not 
whether  he  had  been  dreaming  or  not,  but  again 
there  was  some  one  close  by  his  side. 

"Little  Tuk!  little  Tuk!"  cried  a  voice;  it 
was  the  voice  of  a  young  sailor  boy.  "  I  am 
come  to  bring  you  greeting  from  Korsor.  Kor- 
sor is  a  new  town,  a  living  town,  with  steamers 
and  mail  coaches.  Once  people  used  to  call  it  a 
low,  ugly  place,  but  they  do  so  no  longer. 

*  I  dwell  by  the  seaside,'  says  Korsor ;  '  I  have 
broad  highroads  and  pleasure  gardens ;  and  I 
have  given  birth  to  a  poet,  a  witty  one,  too, 
which  is  more  than  all  poets  are.  I  once  thought 
of  sending  a  ship  all  round  the  world ;  but  I  did 
not  do  it,  though  I  might  as  well  have  done 
so.  I  dwell  so  pleasantly,  close  by  the  port ;  and 

[25] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

I  am  fragrant  with  perfume,  for  the  loveliest  roses 
bloom  round  about  me,  close  to  my  gates.' ' 

And  little  Tuk  could  smell  the  roses  and  see 
them  and  their  fresh  green  leaves.  But  in  a  mo- 
ment they  had  vanished ;  the  green  leaves  spread 
and  thickened  —  a  perfect  grove  had  grown  up 
above  the  bright  waters  of  the  bay,  and  above 
the  grove  rose  the  two  high-pointed  towers  of  a 
glorious  old  church.  From  the  side  of  the  grass- 
grown  hill  gushed  a  fountain  in  rainbow-hued 
streams,  with  a  merry,  musical  voice,  and  close 
beside  it  sat  a  king,  wearing  a  gold  crown  upon 
his  long  dark  hair.  This  was  King  Hroar  of 
the  springs;  and  hard  by  was  the  town  of  Ros- 
kilde  (Hroar's  Fountain).  And  up  the  hill,  on 
a  broad  highway,  went  all  the  kings  and  queens 
of  Denmark,  wearing  golden  crowns;  hand  in 
hand  they  passed  on  into  the  church,  and  the 
deep  music  of  the  organ  mingled  with  the  clear 
rippling  of  the  fountain.  For  nearly  all  the 
kings  and  queens  of  Denmark  lie  buried  in  this 
beautiful  church.  And  little  Tuk  saw  and  heard 
it  all. 

"  Don't  forget  the  towns,"  said  King  Hroar. 
[26] 


LITTLE    TUK 

Then  all  vanished ;  though  where  it  went  he 
knew  not.  It  seemed  like  turning  the  leaves  of 
a  book. 

And  now  there  stood  before  him  an  old  peas- 
ant woman  from  Sorb,  the  quiet  little  town 
where  grass  grows  in  the  very  market  place. 
Her  green  linen  apron  was  thrown  over  her  head 
and  back,  and  the  apron  was  very  wet,  as  if  it 
had  been  raining  heavily. 

"And  so  it  has,"  she  said.  And  she  told  a 
great  many  pretty  things  from  Holberg's  come- 
dies, and  recited  ballads  about  Waldemar  and 
Absalon ;  for  Holberg  had  founded  an  academy 
in  her  native  town. 

All  at  once  she  cowered  down  and  rocked  her 
head  as  if  she  were  a  frog  about  to  spring. 
"  Koax ! "  cried  she;  "it  is  wet,  it  is  always  wet, 
and  it  is  as  still  as  the  grave  in  Soro."  She 
had  changed  into  a  frog.  "  Koax ! "  and  again 
she  was  an  old  woman.  "  One  must  dress  .ac- 
cording to  the  weather,"  she  said. 

"  It  is  wet !  it  is  wet !  My  native  town  is  like  a 
bottle ;  one  goes  in  at  the  cork,  and  by  the  cork 
one  must  come  out.  In  old  times  we  had  the 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

finest  of  fish ;  now  we  have  fresh,  rosy-cheeked 
boys  at  the  bottom  of  the  bottle.  There  they  learn 
wisdom  — Greek,  Greek,  and  Hebrew !  Koax !  " 

It  sounded  exactly  as  if  frogs  were  croaking,  or 
as  if  some  one  were  walking  over  the  great  swamp 
with  heavy  boots.  So  tiresome  was  her  tone,  all 
on  the  same  note,  that  little  Tuk  fell  fast  asleep ; 
and  a  very  good  thing  it  was  for  him. 

But  even  in  sleep  there  came  a  dream,  or  what- 
ever else  it  may  be  called.  His  little  sister  Gustava, 
with  her  blue  eyes  and  flaxen  ringlets,  was  grown 
into  a  tall,  beautiful  girl,  who,  though  she  had  no 
wings,  could  fly;  and  away  they  now  flew  over 
Seeland  —  over  its  green  woods  and  blue  waters. 

"  Hark !  Do  you  hear  the  cock  crow,  little  Tuk  ? 
*  Cock-a-doodle-do ! '  The  fowls  are  flying  hither 
from  Kjoge,  and  you  shall  have  a  farmyard,  a 
great,  great  poultry  yard  of  your  own !  You  shall 
never  suffer  hunger  or  want.  The  golden  goose, 
the  bird  of  good  omen,  shall  be  yours;  you  shall 
become  a  rich  and  happy  man.  Your  house  shall 
rise  up  like  King  Waldemar's  towers  and  be  richly 
decked  with  statues  like  those  of  Thorwaldsen 
at  Praesto. 

[28] 


LITTLE    TUK 

"  Understand  me  well ;  your  good  name  shall  be 
borne  round  the  world,  like  the  ship  that  was  to 
sail  from  Korsor,  and  at  Roskilde  you  shall  speak 
and  give  counsel  wisely  and  well,  little  Tuk,  like 
King  Hroar;  and  when  at  last  you  shall  lie  in 
your  peaceful  grave  you  shall  sleep  as  quietly  —  " 

"  As  if  I  lay  sleeping  in  Soro,"  said  Tuk,  and 
he  woke.  It  was  a  bright  morning,  and  he  could 
not  remember  his  dream,  but  it  was  not  necessary 
that  he  should.  One  has  no  need  to  know  what 
one  will  live  to  see. 

And  now  he  sprang  quickly  out  of  bed  and 
sought  his  book,  that  had  lain  under  his  pillow. 
He  read  his  lesson  and  found  that  he  knew  the 
^-vns  perfectly  well. 

And  the  old  washerwoman  put  her  head  in  at 
the  door  and  said,  with  a  friendly  nod :  "  Thank 
you,  my  good  child,  for  yesterday's  help.  May 
the  Lord  fulfill  your  brightest  and  most  beautiful 
dreams !  I  know  he  will." 

Little  Tuk  had  forgotten  what  he  had  dreamed, 
but  it  did  not  matter.  There  was  One  above  who 
knew  it  all. 

[29] 


THE  UGLY  DUCKLING 

T  WAS  so  beautiful  in  the  country.  It  was  the 
summer  time.  The  wheat  fields  were  golden, 
the  oats  were  green,  and  the  hay  stood  in 
great  stacks  in  the  green  meadows.  The  stork 
paraded  about  among  them  on  his  long  red  legs, 
chattering  away  in  Egyptian,  the  language  he 
had  learned  from  his  lady  mother. 

All  around  the  meadows  and  cornfields  grew 
thick  woods,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  forest  was  a 
deep  lake.  Yes,  it  was  beautiful,  it  was  delightful 
in  the  country. 

In  a  sunny  spot  stood  a  pleasant  old  farm- 
house circled  all  about  with  deep  canals;  and 
from  the  walls  down  to  the  water's  edge  grew 
great  burdocks,  so  high  that  under  the  tallest  of 
them  a  little  child  might  stand  upright.  The 

[30] 


THE    UGLY    DUCKLING 

spot  was  as  wild  as  if  it  had  been  in  the  very 
center  of  the  thick  wood. 

In  this  snug  retreat  sat  a  duck  upon  her  nest, 
watching  for  her  young  brood  to  hatch;  but  the 
pleasure  she  had  felt  at  first  was  almost  gone ; 
she  had  begun  to  think  it  a  wearisome  task,  for 
the  little  ones  were  so  long  coming  out  of  their 
shells,  and  she  seldom  had  visitors.  The  other 
ducks  liked  much  better  to  swim  about  in  the 
canals  than  to  climb  the  slippery  banks  and  sit 
under  the  burdock  leaves  to  have  a  gossip  with  her. 
It  was  a  long  time  to  stay  so  much  by  herself. 

At  length,  however,  one  shell  cracked,  and  soon 
another,  and  from  each  came  a  living  creature 
that  lifted  its  head  and  cried  "  Peep,  peep." 

"  Quack,  quack !  "  said  the  mother ;  and  then 
they  all  tried  to  say  it,  too,  as  well  as  they  could, 
while  they  looked  all  about  them  on  every  side  at 
the  tall  green  leaves.  Their  mother  allowed  them 
to  look  about  as  much  as  they  liked,  because 
green  is  good  for  the  eyes. 

"  What  a  great  world  it  is,  to  be  sure,"  said  the 
little  ones,  when  they  found  how  much  more  room 
they  had  than  when  they  were  in  the  eggshell. 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"Is  this  all  the  world,  do  you  imagine?  "  said 
the  mother.  "  Wait  till  you  have  seen  the  gar- 
den. Far  beyond  that  it  stretches  down  to  the 
pastor's  field,  though  I  have  never  ventured  to 
such  a  distance.  Are  you  all  out  ?  "  she  continued, 
rising  to  look.  "  No,  not  all ;  the  largest  egg  lies 
there  yet,  I  declare.  I  wonder  how  long  this 
business  is  to  last.  I  'm  really  beginning  to  be 
tired  of  it ;  "  but  for  all  that  she  sat  down  again. 

"  Well,  and  how  are  you  to-day  ?  "  quacked  an 
old  duck  who  came  to  pay  her  a  visit. 

'  There  's  one  egg  that  takes  a  deal  of  hatch- 
ing. The  shell  is  hard  and  will  not  break,"  said 
the  fond  mother,  who  sat  still  upon  her  nest. 
"  But  just  look  at  the  others.  Have  I  not  a 
pretty  family?  Are  they  not  the  prettiest  little 
ducklings  you  ever  saw?  They  are  the  image 
of  their  father  —  the  good  for  naught !  He  never 
comes  to  see  me." 

"  Let  me  see  the  egg  that  will  not  break," 
said  the  old  duck.  "  I  Ve  no  doubt  it 's  a  Guinea 
fowl's  egg.  The  same  thing  happened  to  me 
once,  and  a  deal  of  trouble  it  gave  me,  for  the 
young  ones  are  afraid  of  the  water.  I  quacked 

[32] 


THE    UGLY    DUCKLING 

and  clucked,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  Let  me  take 
a  look  at  it.  Yes,  I  am  right ;  it 's  a  Guinea  fowl, 
upon  my  word ;  so  take  my  advice  and  leave  it 
where  it  is.  Come  to  the  water  and  teach  the 
other  children  to  swim." 

"  I  think  I  will  sit  a  little  while  longer,"  said 
the  mother.  "  I  have  sat  so  long,  a  day  or  two 
more  won't  matter." 

(  Very  well,  please  yourself,"  said  the  old  duck, 
rising ;  and  she  went  away. 

At  last  the  great  egg  broke,  and  the  latest  bird 
cried  "Peep,  peep,"  as  he  crept  forth  from  the 
shell.  How  big  and  ugly  he  was !  The  mother 
duck  stared  at  him  and  did  not  know  what  to 
think.  "  Really,"  she  said,  "  this  is  an  enormous 
duckling,  and  it  is  not  at  all  like  any  of  the 
others.  I  wronder  if  he  will  turn  out  to  be  a 
Guinea  fowl.  Well,  we  shall  see  when  we  get  to 
the  water  —  for  into  the  water  he  must  go,  even 
if  I  have  to  push  him  in  myself." 

On  the  next  day  the  weather  was  delightful. 
The  sun  shone  brightly  on  the  green  burdock 
leaves,  and  the  mother  duck  took  her  whole 

[33] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

family  down  to  the  water  and  jumped  in  with  a 
splash.  "Quack,  quack!"  cried  she,  and  one  after 
another  the  little  ducklings  jumped  in.  The  water 
closed  over  their  heads,  but  they  came  up  again 
in  an  instant  and  swam  about  quite  prettily, 
with  their  legs  paddling  under  them  as  easily  as 
possible ;  their  legs  went  of  their  own  accord ; 
and  the  ugly  gray-coat  was  also  in  the  water, 
swimming  with  them. 

"  Oh,"  said  the  mother,  "  that  is  not  a  Guinea 
fowl.  See  how  well  he  uses  his  legs,  and  how 
erect  he  holds  himself !  He  is  my  own  child,  and 
he  is  not  so  very  ugly  after  all,  if  you  look  at 
him  properly.  Quack,  quack !  come  with  me  now. 
I  will  take  you  into  grand  society  and  introduce 
you  to  the  farmyard,  but  you  must  keep  close  to 
me  or  you  may  be  trodden  upon ;  and,  above  all, 
beware  of  the  cat." 

When  they  reached  the  farmyard,  there  was  a 
wretched  riot  going  on ;  two  families  were  fight- 
ing for  an  eel's  head,  which,  after  all,  was  carried 
off  by  the  cat.  "See,  children,  that  is  the  way 
of  the  world,"  said  the  mother  duck,  whetting  her 
beak,  for  she  would  have  liked  the  eel's  head 

[34] 


THE    UGLY    DUCKLING 

herself.  "Come,  now,  use  your  legs,  and  let  me 
see  how  well  you  can  behave.  You  must  bow 
your  heads  prettily  to  that  old  duck  yonder ;  she 
is  the  highest  born  of  them  all  and  has  Spanish 
blood ;  therefore  she  is  well  off.  Don't  you  see 
she  has  a  red  rag  tied  to  her  leg,  which  is  some- 
thing very  grand  and  a  great  honor  for  a  duck ; 
it  shows  that  every  one  is  anxious  not  to  lose 
her,  and  that  she  is  to  be  noticed  by  both  man 
and  beast.  Come,  now,  don't  turn  in  your  toes ;  a 
well-bred  duckling  spreads  his  feet  wide  apart, 
just  like  his  father  and  mother,  in  this  way; 
now  bend  your  necks  and  say  '  Quack ! ' 

The  ducklings  did  as  they  were  bade,  but  the 
other  ducks  stared,  and  said,  "  Look,  here  comes 
another  brood  —  as  if  there  were  not  enough  of 
us  already!  And  bless  me,  what  a  queer-looking 
object  one  of  them  is ;  we  don't  want  him  here  " ; 
and  then  one  flew  out  and  bit  him  in  the  neck. 

"Let  him  alone,"  said  the  mother;  "he  is  not 
doing  any  harm." 

"  Yes,  but  he  is  so  big  and  ugly.  He  's  a  perfect 
fright," said  the  spiteful  duck, "and  therefore  he  must 
be  turned  out.  A  little  biting  will  do  him  good." 

[35] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

tf  The  others  are  very  pretty  children,"  said  the 
old  duck  with  the  rag  on  her  leg,  "  all  but  that 
one.  I  wish  his  mother  could  smooth  him  up  a 
bit;  he  is  really  ill-favored." 

"  That  is  impossible,  your  grace,"  replied  the 
mother.  "  He  is  not  pretty,  but  he  has  a  very 
good  disposition  and  swims  as  well  as  the  others 
or  even  better.  I  think  he  will  grow  up  pretty, 
and  perhaps  be  smaller.  He  has  remained  too 
long  in  the  egg,  and  therefore  his  figure  is  not 
properly  formed ;  "  and  then  she  stroked  his  neck 
and  smoothed  the  feathers,  saying:  "  It  is  a  drake, 
and  therefore  not  of  so  much  consequence.  I 
think  he  will  grow  up  strong  and  able  to  take 
care  of*  himself." 

"  The  other  ducklings  are  graceful  enough," 
said  the  old  duck.  "  Now  make  yourself  at 
home,  and  if  you  find  an  eel's  head  you  can 
bring  it  to  me." 

And  so  they  made  themselves  comfortable ; 
but  the  poor  duckling  who  had  crept  out  of  his 
shell  last  of  all  and  looked  so  ugly  was  bitten 
and  pushed  and  made  fun  of,  not  only  by  the 
ducks  but  by  all  the  poultry. 

[36] 


me, 
looking  okject  one  of  them  i 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"He  is  too  big,"  they  all  said ;  and  the  turkey 
cock,  who  had  been  born  into  the  world  with 
spurs  and  fancied  himself  really  an  emperor, 
puffed  himself  out  like  a  vessel  in  full  sail  and 
flew  at  the  duckling.  He  became  quite  red  in 
the  head  with  passion,  so  that  the  poor  little 
thing  did  not  know  where  to  go,  and  was  quite 
miserable  because  he  was  so  ugly  as  to  be  laughed 
at  by  the  whole  farmyard. 

So  it  went  on  from  day  to  day;  it  got  worse 
and  worse.  The  poor  duckling  was  driven  about 
by  every  one ;  even  his  brothers  and  sisters  were 
unkind  to  him  and  would  say,  "Ah,  you  ugly 
creature,  I  wish  the  cat  would  get  you "  and 
his  mother  had  been  heard  to  say  she  wished  he 
had  never  been  born.  The  ducks  pecked  him, 
the  chickens  beat  him,  and  the  girl  who  fed  the 
poultry  pushed  him  with  her  feet.  So  at  last 
he  ran  away,  frightening  the  little  birds  in  the 
hedge  as  he  flew  over  the  palings.  "  They  are 
afraid  because  I  am  so  ugly,"  he  said.  So  he  flew 
still  farther,  until  he  came  out  on  a  large  moor 
inhabited  by  wild  ducks.  Here  he  remained  the 
whole  night,  feeling  very  sorrowful. 

[38] 


THE    UGLY    DUCKLING 

In  the  morning,  when  the  wild  ducks  rose  in 
the  air,  they  stared  at  their  new  comrade.  "  What 
sort  of  a  duck  are  you  ?  "  they  all  said,  coming 
round  him. 

He  bowed  to  them  and  was  as  polite  as  he 
could  be,  but  he  did  not  reply  to  their  question. 
"  You  are  exceedingly  ugly,"  said  the  wild  ducks ; 
"  but  that  will  not  matter  if  you  do  not  want  to 
marry  one  of  our  family." 

Poor  thing !  he  had  no  thoughts  of  marriage ; 
all  he  wanted  was  permission  to  lie  among  the 
rushes  and  drink  some  of  the  water  on  the  moor. 
After  he  had  been  on  the  moor  two  days,  there 
came  two  wild  geese,  or  rather  goslings,  for  they 
had  not  been  out  of  the  egg  long,  which  accounts 
for  their  impertinence.  "  Listen,  friend,"  said  one 
of  them  to  the  duckling;  "you  are  so  ugly  that 
we  like  you  very  well.  Will  you  go  with  us  and 
become  a  bird  of  passage  ?  Not  far  from  here 
is  another  moor,  in  which  there  are  some  wild 
geese,  all  of  them  unmarried.  It  is  a  chance  for 
you  to  get  a  wife.  You  may  make  your  fortune, 
ugly  as  you  are." 

"  Bang,  bang,"  sounded  in  the  air,  and  the  two 
[39] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY   TALES 

wild  geese  fell  dead  among  the  rushes,  and  the 
water  was  tinged  with  blood.  "  Bang,  bang," 
echoed  far  and  wide  in  the  distance,  and  whole 
flocks  of  wild  geese  rose  up  from  the  rushes. 

The  sound  continued  from  every  direction,  for 
the  sportsmen  surrounded  the  moor,  and  some 
were  even  seated  on  branches  of  trees,  overlook- 
ing the  rushes.  The  blue  smoke  from  the  guns 
rose  like  clouds  over  the  dark  trees,  and  as  it 
floated  away  across  the  water,  a  number  of  sport- 
ing dogs  bounded  in  among  the  rushes,  which 
bent  beneath  them  wherever  they  went.  How 
they  terrified  the  poor  duckling!  He  turned 
away  his  head  to  hide  it  under  his  wing,  and  at 
the  same  moment  a  large,  terrible  dog  passed 
quite  near  him.  His  jaws  were  open,  his  tongue 
hung  from  his  mouth,  and  his  eyes  glared  fear- 
fully. He  thrust  his  nose  close  to  the  duckling, 
showing  his  sharp  teeth,  and  then  "  splash,  splash," 
he  went  into  the  water,  without  touching  him. 

"Oh,"  sighed  the  duckling,  "how  thankful  I  am 
for  being  so  ugly ;  even  a  dog  will  not  bite  me." 

And  so  he  lay  quite  still,  while  the  shot  rat- 
tled through  the  rushes,  and  gun  after  gun  was 

[40] 


THE    UGLY    DUCKLING 

fired  over  him.  It  was  late  in  the  day  before 
all  became  quiet,  but  even  then  the  poor  young 
thing  did  not  dare  to  move.  He  waited  quietly 
for  several  hours  and  then,  after  looking  care- 
fully around  him,  hastened  away  from  the  moor 
as  fast  as  he  could.  He  ran  over  field  and 
meadow  till  a  storm  arose,  and  he  could  hardly 
struggle  against  it. 

Towards  evening  he  reached  a  poor  little  cot- 
tage that  seemed  ready  to  fall,  and  only  seemed 
to  remain  standing  because  it  could  not  decide 
on  which  side  to  fall  first.  The  storm  continued 
so  violent  that  the  duckling  could  go  no  farther. 
He  sat  down  by  the  cottage,  and  then  he  noticed 
that  the  door  was  not  quite  closed,  in  consequence 
of  one  of  the  hinges  having  given  way.  There 
was,  therefore,  a  narrow  opening  near  the  bot- 
tom large  enough  for  him  to  slip  through,  which 
he  did  very  quietly,  and  got  a  shelter  for  the 
night.  Here,  in  this  cottage,  lived  a  woman,  a 
cat,  and  a  hen.  The  cat,  whom  his  mistress 
called  "My  little  son,"  was  a  great  favorite ;  he 
could  raise  his  back,  and  purr,  and  could  even 
throw  out  sparks  from  his  fur  if  it  were  stroked 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

the  wrong  way.  The  hen  had  very  short  legs, 
so  she  was  called  "  Chickie  Short-legs."  She  laid 
good  eggs,  and  her  mistress  loved  her  as  if  she 
had  been  her  own  child.  In  the  morning  the 
strange  visitor  was  discovered ;  the  cat  began  to 
purr  and  the  hen  to  cluck. 

"What  is  that  noise  about?"  said  the  old 
woman,  looking  around  the  room.  But  her  sight 
was  not  very  good ;  therefore  wrhen  she  saw  the 
duckling  she  thought  it  must  be  a  fat  duck  that 
had  strayed  from  home.  "  Oh,  what  a  prize ! " 
she  exclaimed.  "  I  hope  it  is  not  a  drake,  for 
then  I  shall  have  some  ducks'  eggs.  I  must  wait 
and  see." 

So  the  duckling  was  allowed  to  remain  on  trial 
for  three  weeks ;  but  there  were  no  eggs. 

Now  the  cat  was  the  master  of  the  house,  and 
the  hen  was  the  mistress;  and  they  always  said, 
"We  and  the  world,"  for  they  believed  them- 
selves to  be  half  the  world,  and  by  far  the 
better  half,  too.  The  duckling  thought  that 
others  might  hold  a  different  opinion  on  the 
subject,  but  the  hen  would  not  listen  to  such 
doubts. 

[42] 


THE    UGLY    DUCKLING 

"Can  you  lay  eggs?"  she  asked.  "No." 
"  Then  have  the  goodness  to  cease  talking." 
"  Can  you  raise  your  back,  or  purr,  or  throw  out 
sparks  ? "  said  the  cat.  "  No."  "  Then  you  have 
no  right  to  express  an  opinion  when  sensible 
people  are  speaking."  So  the  duckling  sat  in  a 
corner,  feeling  very  low-spirited ;  but  when  the 
sunshine  and  the  fresh  air  came  into  the  room 
through  the  open  door,  he  began  to  feel  such 
a  great  longing  for  a  swim  that  he  could  not 
help  speaking  of  it. 

:t  What  an  absurd  idea !  "  said  the  hen.  :<  You 
have  nothing  else  to  do ;  therefore  you  have  fool- 
ish fancies.  If  you  could  purr  or  lay  eggs,  they 
would  pass  away." 

"  But  it  is  so  delightful  to  swim  about  on  the 
water,"  said  the  duckling,  "  and  so  refreshing  to 
feel  it  close  over  your  head  while  you  dive  down 
to  the  bottom." 

"  Delightful,  indeed !  it  must  be  a  queer  sort 
of  pleasure,"  said  the  hen.  "  Why,  you  must  be 
crazy  !  Ask  the  cat  —  he  is  the  cleverest  animal 
I  know ;  ask  him  how  he  would  like  to  swim  about 
on  the  water,  or  to  dive  under  it,  for  I  will  not 

[43] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

speak  of  my  own  opinion.  Ask  our  mistress,  the 
old  woman;  there  is  no  one  in  the  world  more 
clever  than  she  is.  Do  you  think  she  would  relish 
swimming  and  letting  the  water  close  over  her 
head  ?  " 

"  I  see  you  don't  understand  me,"  said  the 
duckling. 

;t  We  don't  understand  you  ?  Who  can  under- 
stand you,  I  wonder?  Do  you  consider  yourself 
more  clever  than  the  cat  or  the  old  woman  ?  —  I 
will  say  nothing  of  myself.  Don't  imagine  such 
nonsense,  child,  and  thank  your  good  fortune  that 
you  have  been  so  well  received  here.  Are  you  not 
in  a  warm  room  and  in  society  from  which  you 
may  learn  something?  But  you  are  a  chatterer, 
and  your  company  is  not  very  agreeable.  Believe 
me,  I  speak  only  for  your  good.  I  may  tell  you 
unpleasant  truths,  but  that  is  a  proof  of  my  friend- 
ship. I  advise  you,  therefore,  to  lay  eggs  and 
learn  to  purr  as  quickly  as  possible." 

"  I  believe  I  must  go  out  into  the  world  again," 
said  the  duckling. 

"  Yes,  do,"  said  the  hen.  So  the  duckling  left 
the  cottage  and  soon  found  water  on  which  it 

[44] 


THE    UGLY    DUCKLING 

could  swim  and  dive,  but  he  was  avoided  by  all 
other  animals  because  of  his  ugly  appearance. 

Autumn  came,  and  the  leaves  in  the  forest 
turned  to  orange  and  gold ;  then,  as  winter  ap- 
proached, the  wind  caught  them  as  they  fell  and 
whirled  them  into  the  cold  air.  The  clouds,  heavy 
with  hail  and  snowflakes,  hung  low  in  the  sky, 
and  the  raven  stood  among  the  reeds,  crying, 
"Croak,  croak."  It  made  one  shiver  with  cold  to 
look  at  him.  All  this  was  very  sad  for  the  poor 
little  duckling. 

One  evening,  just  as  the  sun  was  setting  amid 
radiant  clouds,  there  came  a  .large  flock  of  beau- 
tiful birds  out  of  the  bushes.  The  duckling  had 
never  seen  any  like  them  before.  They  were 
swans;  and  they  curved  their  graceful  necks, 
while  their  soft  plumage  shone  with  dazzling 
whiteness.  They  uttered  a  singular  cry  as  they 
spread  their  glorious  wings  and  flew  away  from 
those  cold  regions  to  warmer  countries  across 
the  sea.  They  mounted  higher  and  higher  in  the 
air,  and  the  ugly  little  duckling  had  a  strange 
sensation  as  he  watched  them.  He  whirled  him- 
self in  the  water  like  a  wheel,  stretched  out  his 

[45] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

neck  towards  them,  and  uttered  a  cry  so  strange 
that  it  frightened  even  himself.  Could  he  ever 
forget  those  beautiful,  happy  birds !  And  when 
at  last  they  were  out  of  his  sight,  he  dived  under 
the  water  and  rose  again  almost  beside  himself 
with  excitement.  He  knew  not  the  names  of 
these  birds  nor  where  they  had  flown,  but  he 
felt  towards  them  as  he  had  never  felt  towards 
any  other  bird  in  the  world. 

He  was  not  envious  of  these  beautiful  creatures ; 
it  never  occurred  to  him  to  wish  to  be  as  lovely 
as  they.  Poor  ugly  creature,  how  gladly  he  would 
have  lived  even  with  the  ducks,  had  they  only 
treated  him  kindly  and  given  him  encouragement. 

The  winter  •  grew  colder  and  colder ;  he  was 
obliged  to  swim  about  on  the  water  to  keep  it 
from  freezing,  but  every  night  the  space  on 
which  he  swam  became  smaller  and  smaller.  At 
length  it  froze  so  hard  that  the  ice  in  the  water 
crackled  as  he  moved,  and  the  duckling  had  to 
paddle  with  his  legs  as  well  as  he  could,  to 
keep  the  space  from  closing  up.  He  became 
exhausted  at  last  and  lay  still  and  helpless,  frozen 
fast  in  the  ice. 

[46] 


THE    UGLY    DUCKLING 

Early  in  the  morning  a  peasant  who  was  pass- 
ing by  saw  what  had  happened.  He  broke  the 
ice  in  pieces  with  his  wooden  shoe  and  carried 
the  duckling  home  to  his  wife.  The  warmth 
revived  the  poor  little  creature ;  but  when  the 
children  wanted  to  play  with  him,  the  duckling 
thought  they  would  do  him  some  harm,  so  he 
started  up  in  terror,  fluttered  into  the  milk  pan, 
and  splashed  the  milk  about  the  room.  Then  the 
woman  clapped  her  hands,  which  frightened  him 
still  more.  He  flew  first  into  the  butter  cask, 
then  into  the  meal  tub  and  out  again.  What 
a  condition  he  was  in !  The  woman  screamed 
and  struck  at  him  with  the  tongs ;  the  children 
laughed  and  screamed  and  tumbled  over  each 
other  in  their  efforts  to  catch  him,  but  luckily 
he  escaped.  The  door  stood  open;  the  poor 
creature  could  just  manage  to  slip  out  among 
the  bushes  and  lie  down  quite  exhausted  in  the 
newly  fallen  snow. 

It  would  be  very  sad  were  I  to  relate  all  the 
misery  and  privations  which  the  poor  little  duck- 
ling endured  during  the  hard  winter;  but  when  it 
had  passed  he  found  himself  lying  one  morning 

[47] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

in  a  moor,  amongst  the  rushes.  He  felt  the 
warm  sun  shining  and  heard  the  lark  singing 
and  saw  that  all  around  was  beautiful  spring. 

Then  the  young  bird  felt  that  his  wings  were 
strong,  as  he  flapped  them  against  his  sides  and 
rose  high  into  the  air.  They  bore  him  onwards 
until,  before  he  well  knew  how  it  had  happened, 
he  found  himself  in  a  large  garden.  The  apple 
trees  were  in  full  blossom,  and  the  fragrant  elders 
bent  their  long  green  branches  down  to  the 
stream,  which  wound  round  a  smooth  lawn. 
Everything  looked  beautiful  in  the  freshness  of 
early  spring.  From  a  thicket  close  by  came  three 
beautiful  white  swans,  rustling  their  feathers  and 
swimming  lightly  over  the  smooth  water.  The 
duckling  saw  these  lovely  birds  and  felt  more 
strangely  unhappy  than  ever. 

"  I  will  fly  to  these  royal  birds,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  and  they  will  kill  me  because,  ugly  as  I  am,  I 
dare  to  approach  them.  But  it  does  not  matter; 
better  be  killed  by  them  than  pecked  by  the 
ducks,  beaten  by  the  hens,  pushed  about  by  the 
maiden  who  feeds  the  poultry,  or  starved  with 
hunger  in  the  winter." 

[48] 


THE   UGLY    DUCKLING 

Then  he  flew  to  the  water  and  swam  towards 
the  beautiful  swans.  The  moment  they  espied 
the  stranger  they  rushed  to  meet  him  with  out- 
stretched wings. 

"  Kill  me,"  said  the  poor  bird  and  he  bent 
his  head  down  to  the  surface  of  the  water  and 
awaited  death. 

But  what  did  he  see  in  the  clear  stream  below  ? 
His  own  image — no  longer  a  dark-gray  bird,  ugly 
and  disagreeable  to  look  at,  but  a  graceful  and 
beautiful  swan. 

To  be  born  in  a  duck's  nest  in  a  farmyard  is 
of  no  consequence  to  a  bird  if  it  is  hatched  from 
a  swan's  egg.  He  now  felt  glad  at  having  suf- 
fered sorrow  and  trouble,  because  it  enabled  him 
to  enjoy  so  much  better  all  the  pleasure  and  hap- 
piness around  him;  for  the  great  swans  swam 
round  the  newcomer  and  stroked  his  neck  with 
their  beaks,  as  a  welcome. 

Into  the  garden  presently  came  some  little  chil- 
dren and  threw  bread  and  cake  into  the  water. 

"  See,"  cried  the  youngest,  "  there  is  a  new 
one ; "  and  the  rest  were  delighted,  and  ran  to 
their  father  and  mother,  dancing  and  clapping 

[49] 


he 


one  is  the 
beautiful  of  aJl  <»  •  <> 


THE    UGLY    DUCKLING 

their  hands  and  shouting  joyously,  '  There  is 
another  swan  come ;  a  new  one  has  arrived." 

Then  they  threw  more  bread  and  cake  into 
the  water  'and  said,  "  The  new  one  is  the  most 
beautiful  of  all,  he  is  so  young  and  pretty."  And 
the  old  swans  bowed  their  heads  before  him. 

Then  he  felt  quite  ashamed  and  hid  his  head 
under  his  wing,  for  he  did  not  know  what  to  do, 
he  was  so  happy  —  yet  he  was  not  at  all  proud. 
He  had  been  persecuted  and  despised  for  his 
ugliness,  and  now  he  heard  them  say  he  was  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  the  birds.  Even  the  elder 
tree  bent  down  its  boughs  into  the  water  before 
him,  and  the  sun  shone  warm  and  bright.  Then 
he  rustled  his  feathers,  curved  his  slender  neck, 
and  cried  joyfully,  from  the  depths  of  his  heart, 
"  I  never  dreamed  of  such  happiness  as  this  while 
I  was  the  despised  ugly  duckling." 


LITTLE  IDA'S  FLOWERS 

"Y  POOR  flowers  are  quite  faded!" 
said  little  Ida.  "  Only  yesterday  even- 
ing they  were  so  pretty,  and  now  all 
the  leaves  are  drooping.  Why  do  they  do  that  ?  " 
she  asked  of  the  student,  who  sat  on  the  sofa. 
He  was  a  great  favorite  with  her,  because  he  used 
to  tell  her  the  prettiest  of  stories  and  cut  out 
the  most  amusing  things  in  paper  —  hearts  with 
little  ladies  dancing  in  them,  and  high  castles 
with  doors  which  one  could  open  and  shut.  He 
was  a  merry  student.  "  Why  do  the  flowers  look 
so  wretched  to-day  ?  "  asked  she  again,  showing 
him  a  bouquet  of  faded  flowers. 

"  Do  you  not  know  ? "  replied  the  student. 
:'  The  flowers  went  to  a  ball  last  night,  and  are 
tired.  That 's  why  they  hang  their  heads." 


LITTLE    IDA'S    FLOWERS 

"What  an  idea,"  exclaimed  little  Ida.  "Flowers 
cannot  dance ! " 

"  Of  course  they  can  dance !  When  it  is  dark, 
and  we  are  all  gone  to  bed,  they  jump  about  as 
merrily  as  possible.  They  have  a  ball  almost 
every  night." 

"  And  can  their  children  go  to  the  ball  ? " 
asked  Ida. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  the  student ;  "  daisies  and  lilies 
of  the  valley,  that  are  quite  little." 

"  And  when  is  it  that  the  prettiest  flowers 
dance  ?  " 

"  Have  you  not  been  to  the  large  garden  out- 
side the  town  gate,  in  front  of  the  castle  where 
the  king  lives  in  summer  —  the  garden  that  is  so 
full  of  lovely  flowers  ?  You  surely  remember  the 
swans  which  come  swimming  up  when  you  give 
them  crumbs  of  bread  ?  Believe  me,  they  have 
capital  balls  there." 

"  I  was  out  there  only  yesterday  with  my 
mother,"  said  Ida,  "  but  there  were  no  leaves  on 
the  trees,  and  I  did  not  see  a  single  flower.  What 
has  become  of  them  ?  There  were  so  many  in 
the  summer." 

[53] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"They  are  inside  the  palace  now,"  replied  the 
student.  "As  soon  as  the  king  and  all  his  court 
go  back  to  the  town,  the  flowers  hasten  out  of 
the  garden  and  into  the  palace,  where  they  have 
famous  times.  Oh,  if  you  could  but  see  them ! 
The  two  most  beautiful  roses  seat  themselves 
on  the  throne  and  act  king  and  queen.  All  the 
tall  red  cockscombs  stand  before  them  on  either 
side  and  bow ;  they  are  the  chamberlains.  Then 
all  the  pretty  flowers  come,  and  there  is  a  great 
ball.  The  blue  violets  represent  the  naval  cadets; 
they  dance  with  hyacinths  and  crocuses,  who  take 
the  part  of  young  ladies.  The  tulips  and  the  tall 
tiger  lilies  are  old  ladies,  —  dowagers,  —  who  see 
to  it  that  the  dancing  is  well  done  and  that  all 
things  go  on  properly." 

"  But,"  asked  little  Ida,  "  is  there  no  one  there 
to  harm  the  flowers  for  daring  to  dance  in  the 
king's  castle?" 

"  No  one  knows  anything  about  it,"  replied  the 
student.  "  Once  during  the  night,  perhaps,  the 
old  steward  of  the  castle  does,  to  be  sure,  come 
in  with  his  great  bunch  of  keys  to  see  that  all 
is  right;  but  the  moment  the  flowers  hear  the 

[54] 


LITTLE    IDA'S    FLOWERS 

clanking  of  the  keys  they  stand  stock-still  or  hide 
themselves  behind  the  long  silk  window  curtains. 
Then  the  old  steward  will  say,  *  Do  I  not  smell 
flowers  here  ? '  but  he  can't  see  them." 

1  That  is  very  funny,"  exclaimed  little  Ida, 
clapping  her  hands  with  glee ;  "  but  should  not 
I  be  able  to  see  the  flowers  ?  " 

*  To  be  sure  you  can  see  them,"  replied  the 
student.  "  You  have  only  to  remember  to  peep 
in  at  the  windows  the  next  time  you  go  to  the 
palace.  I  did  so  this  very  day,  and  saw  a  long  yel- 
low lily  lying  on  the  sofa.  She  was  a  court  lady." 

"  Do  the  flowers  in  the  Botanical  Garden  go  to 
the  ball  ?  Can  they  go  all  that  long  distance  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  student ;  "  for  the  flowers 
can  fly  if  they  please.  Have  you  not  seen  the 
beautiful  red  and  yellow  butterflies  that  look  so 
much  like  flowers  ?  They  are  in  fact  nothing  else. 
They  have  flown  off  their  stalks  high  into  the 
air  and  flapped  their  little  petals  just  as  if  they 
were  wings,  and  thus  they  came  to  fly  about. 
As  a  reward  for  always  behaving  well  they  have 
leave  to  fly  about  in  the  daytime,  too,  instead  of 
sitting  quietly  on  their  stalks  at  home,  till  at  last 

[55] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

the  flower  petals  have  become  real  wings.    That 
you  have  seen  yourself. 

"It  may  be,  though,  that  the  flowers  in  the 
Botanical  Garden  have  never  been  in  the  king's 
castle.  They  may  not  have  heard  what  frolics 
take  place  there  every  night.  But  I  '11  tell  you ;  if, 
the  next  time  you  go  to  the  garden,  you  whisper 
to  one  of  the  flowers  that  a  great  ball  is  to  be 
given  yonder  in  the  castle,  the  news  will  spread 
from  flower  to  flower  and  they  will  all  fly  away. 
Then  should  the  professor  come  to  his  garden 
there  won't  be  a  flower  there,  and  he  will  not  be 
able  to  imagine  what  has  become  of  them." 

"  But  how  can  one  flower  tell  it  to  another  ? 
for  I  am  sure  the  flowers  cannot  speak." 

"  No;  you  are  right  there,"  returned  the  student. 
'  They  cannot  speak,  but  they  can  make  signs. 
Have  you  ever  noticed  that  when  the  wind  blows 
a  little  the  flowers  nod  to  each  other  and  move 
all  their  green  leaves  ?  They  can  make  each  other 
understand  in  this  way  just  as  well  as  we  do 
by  talking." 

And    does    the    professor    understand    their 
pantomime  ?  "  asked   Ida. 

[56] 


LITTLE    IDA'S    FLOWERS 

"Oh,  certainly;  at  least  part  of  it.  He  came 
into  his  garden  one  morning  and  saw  that  a 
great  stinging  nettle  was  making  signs  with  its 
leaves  to  a  beautiful  red  carnation.  It  was  saying, 
1  You  are  so  beautiful,  and  I  love  you  with  all  my 
heart ! '  But  the  professor  does  n't  like  that  sort 
of  thing,  and  he  rapped  the  nettle  on  her  leaves, 
which  are  her  fingers ;  but  she  stung  him,  and 
since  then  he  has  never  dared  to  touch  a  nettle." 

"Ha!  ha!"  laughed  little  Ida,  "that  is  very 
funny." 

"  How  can  one  put  such  stuff  into  a  child's 
head  ?  "  said  a  tiresome  councilor,  who  had  come 
to  pay  a  visit.  He  did  not  like  the  student  and 
always  used  to  scold  when  he  saw  him  cutting 
out  the  droll  pasteboard  figures,  such  as  a  man 
hanging  on  a  gibbet  and  holding  a  heart  in  his 
hand  to  show  that  he  was  a  stealer  of  hearts,  or 
an  old  witch  riding  on  a  broomstick  and  carrying 
her  husband  on  the  end  of  her  nose.  The  coun- 
cilor could  not  bear  such  jokes,  and  he  would 
always  say,  as  now:  "  How  can  any  one  put  such 
notions  into  a  child's  head  ?  They  are  only  foolish 
fancies." 

[57] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

But  to  little  Ida  all  that  the  student  had  told 
her  was  very  entertaining,  and  she  kept  thinking 
it  over.  She  was  sure  now  that  her  pretty  yester- 
day's flowers  hung  their  heads  because  they  were 
tired,  and  that  they  were  tired  because  they  had 
been  to  the  ball.  So  she  took  them  to  the  table 
where  stood  her  toys.  Her  doll  lay  sleeping,  but 
Ida  said  to  her,  "  You  must  get  up,  and  be  con- 
tent to  sleep  to-night  in  the  table  drawer,  for  the 
poor  flowers  are  ill  and  must  have  your  bed  to 
sleep  in;  then  perhaps  they  will  be  well  again 
by  to-morrow." 

And  she  at  once  took  the  doll  out,  though  the 
doll  looked  vexed  at  giving  up  her  cradle  to 
the  flowers. 

Ida  laid  the  flowers  in  the  doll's  bed  and  drew 
the  coverlet  quite  over  them,  telling  them  to  lie 
still  while  she  made  some  tea  for  them  to  drink, 
in  order  that  they  might  be  well  next  day.  And 
she  drew  the  curtains  about  the  bed,  that  the 
sun  might  not  shine  into  their  eyes. 

All  the  evening  she  thought  of  nothing  but 
what  the  student  had  told  her;  and  when  she 
went  to  bed  herself,  she  ran  to  the  window  where 

[58] 


LITTLE    IDA'S    FLOWERS 

her  mother's  tulips  and  hyacinths  stood.  She 
whispered  to  them,  "  I  know  very  well  that  you 
are  going  to  a  ball  to-night."  The  flowers  pre- 
tended not  to  understand  and  did  not  stir  so 
much  as  a  leaf,  but  that  did  not  prevent  Ida 
from  knowing  what  she  knew. 

When  she  was  in  bed  she  lay  for  a  long  time 
thinking  how  delightful  it  must  be  to  see  the 
flower  dance  in  the  king's  castle,  and  said  to 
herself,  "  I  wonder  if  my  flowers  have  really  been 
there."  Then  she  fell  asleep. 

In  the  night  she  woke.  She  had  been  dream- 
ing of  the  student  and  the  flowers  and  the  coun- 
cilor, who  told  her  they  were  making  game  of 
her.  All  was  still  in  the  room,  the  night  lamp 
was  burning  on  the  table,  and  her  father  and 
mother  were  both  asleep. 

"  I  wonder  if  my  flowers  are  still  lying  in 
Sophie's  bed,"  she  thought  to  herself.  "How  I 
should  like  to  know !  "  She  raised  herself  a  little 
and  looked  towards  the  door,  which  stood  half 
open ;  within  lay  the  flowers  and  all  her  play- 
things. She  listened,  and  it  seemed  to  her  that 

[59] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

she  heard  some  one  playing  upon  the  piano,  but 
quite  softly,  and  more  sweetly  than  she  had  ever 
heard  before. 

"  Now  all  the  flowers  are  certainly  dancing," 
thought  she.  "  Oh,  how  I  should  like  to  see 
them ! "  but  she  dared  not  get  up  for  fear  of 
waking  her  father  and  mother.  "  If  they  would 
only  come  in  here ! "  But  the  flowers  did  not 
come,  and  the  music  went  on  so  prettily  that 
she  could  restrain  -herself  no  longer,  'and  she 
crept  out  of  her  little  bed,  stole  softly  to  the 
door,  and  peeped  into  the  room.  Oh,  what  a 
pretty  sight  it  was  ! 

There  was  no  night  lamp  in  the  room,  still  it 
was  quite  bright ;  the  moon  shone  through  the 
window  down  upon  the  floor,  and  it  was  almost 
like  daylight.  The  hyacinths  and  tulips  stood 
there  in  two  rows.  Not  one  was  left  on  the 
window,  where  stood  the  empty  flower  pots.  On 
the  floor  all  the  flowers  danced  gracefully,  mak- 
ing all  the  turns,  and  holding  each  other  by  their 
long  green  leaves  as  they  twirled  around.  At  the 
piano  sat  a  large  yellow  lily,  which  little  Ida 
remembered  "to  have  seen  in  the  summer,  for 

[60] 


tne  floot» 

the  flowers 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

she  recollected  that  the  student  had  said,  "  How 
like  she  is  to  Miss  Laura,"  and  how  every  one 
had  laughed  at  the  remark.  But  now  she  really 
thought  that  the  lily  was  very  like  the  young 
lady.  It  had  exactly  her  manner  of  playing  — 
bending  its  long  yellow  face,  now  to  one  side  and 
now  to  the  other,  and  nodding  its  head  to  mark 
the  time  of  the  beautiful  music. 

A  tall  blue  crocus  now  stepped  forward,  sprang 
upon  the  table  on  which  lay  Ida's  playthings, 
went  straight  to  the  doll's  cradle,  and  drew  back 
the  curtains.  There  lay  the  sick  flowers;  but 
they  rose  at  once,  greeted  the  other  flowers,  and 
made  a  sign  that  they  would  like  to  join  in  the 
dance.  They  did  not  look  at  all  ill  now. 

Suddenly  a  heavy  noise  was  heard,  as  of  some- 
thing falling  from  the  table.  Ida  glanced  that 
way  and  saw  that  it  was  the  rod  she  had  found 
on  her  bed  on  Shrove  Tuesday,  and  that  it  seemed 
to  wish  to  belong  to  the  flowers.  It  was  a  pretty 
rod,  for  a  wax  figure  that  looked  exactly  like  the 
councilor  sat  upon  the  head  of  it. 

The  rod  began  to  dance,  and  the  wax  figure 
that  was  riding  on  it  became  long  and  great,  like 


LITTLE    IDA'S    FLOWERS 

the  councilor  himself,  and  began  to  exclaim, 
"  How  can  one  put  such  stuff  into  a  child's 
head?"  It  was  very  funny  to  see,  and  little  Ida 
could  not  help  laughing,  for  the  rod  kept  on 
dancing,  and  the  councilor  had  to  dance  too, — 
there  was  no  help  for  it,  —  whether  he  remained 
tall  and  big  or  became  a  little  wax  figure  again. 
But  the  other  flowers  said  a  good  word  for  him, 
especially  those  that  had  lain  in  the  doll's  bed, 
so  that  at  last  the  rod  left  it  in  peace. 

At  the  same  time  there  was  a  loud  knocking 
inside  the  drawer  where  Sophie,  Ida's  doll,  lay 
with  many  other  toys.  She  put  out  her  head  and 
asked  in  great  astonishment:  "Is  there  a  ball 
here  ?  Why  has  no  one  told  me  of  it  ? "  She  sat 
down  upon  the  table,  expecting  some  of  the 
flowers  to  ask  her  to  dance  with  them;  but  as 
they  did  not,  she  let  herself  fall  upon  the  floor  so 
as  to  make  a  great  noise ;  and  then  the  flowers 
all  came  crowding  about  to  ask  if  she  were  hurt, 
and  they  were  very  polite  —  especially  those  that 
had  lain  in  her  bed. 

She  was  not  at  all  hurt,  and  the  flowers  thanked 
her  for  the  use  of  her  pretty  bed  and  took  her 

[63] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

into  the  middle  of  the  room,  where  the  moon 
shone,  and  danced  with  her,  while  the  other 
flowers  formed  a  circle  around  them.  So  now 
Sophie  was  pleased  and  said  they  might  keep 
her  bed,  for  she  did  not  mind  sleeping  in  the 
drawer  the  least  in  the  world. 

But  the  flowers  replied :  "  We  thank  you  most 
heartily  for  your  kindness,  but  we  shall  not  live 
long  enough  to  need  it ;  we  shall  be  quite  dead 
by  to-morrow.  But  tell  little  Ida  she  is  to  bury 
us  out  in  the  garden  near  the  canary  bird's  grave ; 
and  then  we  shall  wake  again  next  summer  and 
be  even  more  beautiful  than  we  have  been  this 
year." 

"  Oh,  no,  you  must  not  die,"  said  Sophie,  kissing 
them  as  she  spoke ;  and  then  a  great  company  of 
flowers  came  dancing  in.  Ida  could  not  imagine 
where  they  could  have  come  from,  unless  from 
the  king's  garden.  Two  beautiful  roses  led  the 
way,  wearing  golden  crowns ;  then  followed  wall- 
flowers and  pinks,  who  bowed  to  all  present. 
They  brought  a  band  of  music  with  them.  Wild 
hyacinths  and  little  white  snowdrops  jingled 
merry  bells.  It  was  a  most  remarkable  orchestra. 

[64] 


LITTLE   IDA'S    FLOWERS 

Following  these  were  an  immense  number  of 
flowers,  all  dancing  —  violets,  daisies,  lilies  of  the 
valley,  and  others  which  it  was  a  delight  to  see. 

At  last  all  the  happy  flowers  wished  one 
another  good  night.  Little  Ida,  too,  crept  back 
to  bed,  to  dream  of  all  that  she  had  seen. 

When  she  rose  next  morning  she  went  at 
once  to  her  little  table  to  see  if  her  flowers  were 
there.  She  drew  aside  the  curtains  of  her  little 
bed ;  yes,  there  lay  the  flowers,  but  they  were 
much  more  faded  to-day  than  yesterday.  Sophie 
too  was  in  the  drawer,  but  she  looked  very 
sleepy. 

"  Do  you  remember  what  you  were  to  say  to 
me  ?  "  asked  Ida  of  her. 

But  Sophie  looked  quite  stupid  and  had  not 
a  word  to  say. 

"  You  are  not  kind  at  all,"  said  Ida;  "  and  yet 
all  the  flowers  let  you  dance  with  them." 

Then  she  chose  from  her  playthings  a  little 
pasteboard  box  with  birds  painted  on  it,  and  in 
it  she  laid  the  dead  flowers. 

"  That  shall  be  your  pretty  casket,"  said  she ; 
"  and  when  my  cousins  come  to  visit  me,  by 

[65] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

and  by,  they  shall  help  me  to  bury  you  in  the 
garden,  in  order  that  next  summer  you  may  grow 
again  and  be  still  more  beautiful." 

The  two  cousins  were  two  merry  boys,  Gustave 
and  Adolphe.  Their  father  had  given  them  each 
a-  new  crossbow,  which  they  brought  with  them  to 
show  to  Ida.  She  told  them  of  the  poor  flowers 
that  were  dead  and  were  to  be  buried  in  the 
garden.  So  the  two  boys  walked  in  front,  with 
their  bows  slung  across  their  shoulders,  and  little 
Ida  followed,  carrying  the  dead  flowers  in  their 
pretty  coffin.  A  little  grave  was  dug  for  them  in 
the  garden.  Ida  first  kissed  the  flowers  and  then 
laid  them  in  the  earth,  and  Adolphe  and  Gustave 
shot  with  their  crossbows  over  the  grave,  for  they 
had  neither  guns  nor  cannons. 


[66] 


THE  STEADFAST  TIN  SOLDIER 


^HERE  were  once  five  and  twenty  tin  sol- 
diers. They  were  brothers,  for  they  had  all 
been  made  out  of  the  same  old  tin  spoon. 
They  all  shouldered  their  bayonets,  held  them- 
selves upright,  and  looked  straight  before  them. 
Their  uniforms  were  very  smart-looking  —  red 
and  blue  —  and  very  splendid.  The  first  thing 
they  heard  in  the  world,  when  the  lid  was  taken 
off  the  box  in  which  they  lay,  was  the  words  "  Tin 
soldiers ! "  These  words  were  spoken  by  a  little 
boy,  who  clapped  his  hands  for  joy.  The  soldiers 
had  been  given  him  because  it  was  his  birthday, 
and  now  he  was  putting  them  out  upon  the  table. 
Each  was  exactly  like  the  rest  to  a  hair,  except 
one  who  had  but  one  leg.  He  had  been  cast  last 
of  all,  and  there  had  not  been  quite  enough  tin 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

to  finish  him ;  but  he  stood  as  firmly  upon  his 
one  leg  as  the  others  upon  their  two,  and  it  was 
he  whose  fortunes  became  so  remarkable. 

On  the  table  where  the  tin  soldiers  had  been 
set  up  were  several  other  toys,  but  the  one  that 
attracted  most  attention  was  a  pretty  little  paper 
castle.  Through  its  tiny  windows  one  could  see 
straight  into  the  hall.  In  front  of  the  castle  stood 
little  trees,  clustering  round  a  small  mirror  which 
was  meant  to  represent  a  transparent  lake.  Swans 
of  wax  swam  upon  its  surface,  and  it  reflected 
back  their  images. 

All  this  was  very  pretty,  but  prettiest  of  all 
was  a  little  lady  who  stood  at  the  castle's  open 
door.  She  too  was  cut  out  of  paper,  but  she 
wore  a  frock  of  the  clearest  gauze  and  a  narrow 
blue  ribbon  over  her  shoulders,  like  a  scarf,  and 
in  the  middle  of  the  ribbon  was  placed  a  shining 
tinsel  rose.  The  little  lady  stretched  out  both 
her  arms,  for  she  was  a  dancer,  and  then  she 
lifted  one  leg  so  high  that  the  Soldier  quite  lost 
sight  of  it.  He  thought  that,  like  himself,  she 
had  but  one  leg. 

tf  That  would  be  just  the  wife  for  me,"  thought 
[68] 


THE    STEADFAST    TIN    SOLDIER 

he,  "  if  she  were  not  too  grand.  But  she  lives  in 
a  castle,  while  I  have  only  a  box,  and  there  are 
five  and  twenty  of  us  in  that.  It  would  be  no 
place  for  a  lady.  Still,  I  must  try  to  make  her 
acquaintance."  A  snuffbox  happened  to  be  upon 
the  table  and  he  lay  down  at  full  length  behind 
it,  and  here  he  could  easily  watch  the  dainty 
little  lady,  who  still  remained  standing  on  one 
leg  without  losing  her  balance. 

When  the  evening  came  all  the  other 'tin  sol- 
diers were  put  away  in  their  box,  and  the  people 
in  the  house  went  to  bed.  Now  the  playthings 
began  to  play  in  their  turn.  They  visited,  fought 
battles,  and  gave  balls.  The  tin  soldiers  rattled 
in  the  box,  for  they  wished  to  join  the  rest, 
but  they  could  not  lift  the  lid.  The  nutcrackers 
turned  somersaults,  and  the  pencil  jumped  about 
in  a  most  amusing  way.  There  was  such  a  din 
that  the  canary  woke  and  began  to  speak  —  and  in 
verse,  too.  The  only  ones  who  did  not  move  from 
their  places  were  the  Tin  Soldier  and  the  Lady 
Dancer.  She  stood  on  tiptoe  with  outstretched 
arms,  and  he  was  just  as  persevering  on  his  one 
leg ;  he  never  once  turned  away  his  eyes  from  her. 

[69] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

Twelve  o'clock  struck  —  crash !  up  sprang  the 
lid  of  the  snuffbox.  There  was  no  snuff  in  it, 
but  a  little  black  goblin.  You  see  it  was  not  a 
real  snuffbox,  but  a  jack-in-the-box. 

"  Tin  Soldier,"  said  the  Goblin,  "  keep  thine 
eyes  to  thyself.  Gaze  not  at  what  does  not  con- 
cern thee !  " 

But  the  Tin  Soldier  pretended  not  to  hear. 

"  Only  wait,  then,  till  to-morrow,"  remarked 
the  Goblin. 

Next  morning,  when  the  children  got  up,  the 
Tin  Soldier  was  placed  on  the  window  sill,  and, 
whether  it  was  the  Goblin  or  the  wind  that  did 
it,  all  at  once  the  window  flew  open  and  the  Tin 
Soldier  fell  head  foremost  from  the  third  story 
to  the  street  below.  It  was  a  tremendous  fall ! 
Over  and  over  he  turned  in  the  air,  till  at  last  he 
rested,  his  cap  and  bayonet  sticking  fast  between 
the  paving  stones,  while  his  one  leg  stood  upright 
in  the  air. 

The  maidservant  and  the  little  boy  came  down 
at  once  to  look  for  him,  but,  though  they  nearly 
trod  upon  him,  they  could  not  manage  to  find 
him.  If  the  Soldier  had  but  once  called  "  Here 

[70] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY   TALES 

am  I ! "  they  might  easily  enough  have  heard  him, 
but  he  did  not  think  it  becoming  to  cry  out  for 
help,  being  in  uniform. 

It  now  began  to  rain;  faster  and  faster  fell  the 
drops,  until  there  was  a  heavy  shower;  and  when 
it  was  over,  two  street  boys  came  by. 

"  Look  you,"  said  one,  "  there  lies  a  tin  soldier. 
He  must  come  out  and  sail  in  a  boat." 

So  they  made  a  boat  out  of  an  old  newspaper 
and  put  the  Tin  Soldier  in  the  middle  of  it,  and 
away  he  sailed  down  the  gutter,  while  the  boys 
ran  along  by  his  side,  clapping  their  hands. 

Goodness !  how  the  waves  rocked  that  paper 
boat,  and  how  fast  the  stream  ran !  The  Tin 
Soldier  became  quite  giddy,  the  boat  veered  round 
so  quickly ;  still  he  moved  not  a  muscle,  but 
looked  straight  before  him  and  held  his  bayonet 
tightly. 

All  at  once  the  boat  passed  into  a  drain,  and 
it  became  as  dark  as  his  own  old  home  in  the  box. 
"  Where  am  I  going  now  ? "  thought  he.  "  Yes, 
to  be  sure,  it  is  all  that  Goblin's  doing.  Ah !  if 
the  little  lady  were  but  sailing  with  me  in  the 
boat,  I  would  not  care  if  it  were  twice  as  dark." 

[72] 


THE    STEADFAST    TIN    SOLDIER 

Just  then  a  great  water  rat,  that  lived  under 
the  drain,  darted  suddenly  out. 

"  Have  you  a  passport  ? "  asked  the  rat. 
"  Where  is  your  passport  ?  " 

But  the  Tin  Soldier  kept  silence  and  only  held 
his  bayonet  with  a  firmer  grasp. 

The  boat  sailed  on,  but  the  rat  followed. 
Whew !  how  he  gnashed  his  teeth  and  cried  to 
the  sticks  and  straws:  "Stop  him!  stop  him!  He 
has  n't  paid  toll !  He  has  n't  shown  his  passport !  " 

But  the  stream  grew  stronger  and  stronger. 
Already  the  Tin  Soldier  could  see  daylight  at 
the  point  where  the  tunnel  ended ;  but  at  the 
same  time  he  heard  a  rushing,  roaring  noise,  at 
which  a  bolder  man  might  have  trembled.  Think  ! 
just  where  the  tunnel  ended,  the  drain  widened 
into  a  great  sheet  that  fell  into  the  mouth  of  a 
sewer.  It  was  as  perilous  a  situation  for  the  Sol- 
dier as  sailing  down  a  mighty  waterfall  would  be 
for  us. 

He  was  now  so  near  it  that  he  could  not  stop. 
The  boat  dashed  on,  and  the  Tin  Soldier  held 
himself  so  well  that  no  one  might  say  of  him 
that  he  so  much  as  winked  an  eye.  Three  or 

[73] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

four  times  the  boat  whirled  round  and  round ; 
it  was  full  of  water  to  the  brim  and  must  cer- 
tainly sink. 

The  Tin  Soldier  stood  up 'to  his  neck  in  water; 
deeper  and  deeper  sank  the  boat,  softer  and  softer 
grew  the  paper;  and  now  the  water  closed  over 
the  Soldier's  head.  He  thought  of  the  pretty 
little  dancer  whom  he  should  never  see  again, 
and  in  his  ears  rang  the  words  of  the  song: 

Wild  adventure,  mortal  danger, 
Be  thy  portion,  valiant  stranger. 

The  paper  boat  parted  in  the  middle,  and  the 
Soldier  was  about  to  sink,  when  he  was  swallowed 
by  a  great  fish. 

Oh,  how  dark  it  was !  darker  even  than  in  the 
drain,  and  so  narrow ;  but  the  Tin  Soldier  retained 
his  courage ;  there  he  lay  at  full  length,  shoulder- 
ing his  bayonet  as  before. 

To  and  fro  swam  the  fish,  turning  and  twisting 
and  making  the  strangest  movements,  till  at  last 
he  became  perfectly  still. 

Something  like  a  flash  of  daylight  passed 
through  him,  and  a  voice  said,  "  Tin  Soldier !  " 

[74] 


THE    STEADFAST    TIN    SOLDIER 

The  fish  had  been  caught,  taken  to  market,  sold 
and  bought,  and  taken  to  the  kitchen,  where  the 
cook  had  cut  him  with  a  large  knife.  She  seized 
the  Tin  Soldier  between  her  finger  and  thumb 
and  took  him  to  the  room  where  the  family  sat, 
and  where  all  were  eager  to  see  the  celebrated 
man  who  had  traveled  in  the  maw  of  a  fish ;  but 
the  Tin  Soldier  remained  unmoved.  He  was  not 
at  all  proud. 

They  set  him  upon  the  table  there.  But  how 
could  so  curious  a  thing  happen  ?  The  Soldier 
was  in  the  very  same  room  in  which  he  had  been 
before.  He  saw  the  same  children,  the  same  toys 
stood  upon  the  table,  and  among  them  the  pretty 
dancing  maiden,  who  still  stood  upon  one  leg. 
She  too  was  steadfast.  That  touched  the  Tin 
Soldier's  heart.  He  could  have  wept  tin  tears, 
but  that  would  not  have  been  proper.  He  looked 
at  her  and  she  looked  at  him,  but  neither  spoke 
a  word. 

And  now  one  of  the  little  boys  took  the  Tin 
Soldier  and  threw  him  into  the  stove.  He  gave 
no  reason  for  doing  so,  but  no  doubt  the  Goblin 
in  the  snuffbox  had  something  to  do  with  it. 

[75] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY   TALES 

The  Tin  Soldier  stood  now  in  a  blaze  of  red 
light.  The  heat  he  felt  was  terrible,  but  whether 
it  proceeded  from  the  fire  or  from  the  love  in  his 
heart,  he  did  not  know.  He  saw  that  the  colors 
were  quite  gone  from  his  uniform,  but  whether 
that  had  happened  on  the  journey  or  had  been 
caused  by  grief,  no  one  could  say.  He  looked  at 
the  little  lady,  she  looked  at  him,  and  he  felt  him- 
self melting;  still  he  stood  firm  as  ever,  with  his 
bayonet  on  his  shoulder.  Then  suddenly  the  door 
flew  open ;  the  wind  caught  the  Dancer,  and  she 
flew  straight  into  the  stove  to  the  Tin  Soldier, 
flashed  up  in  a  flame,  and  was  gone !  The  Tin 
Soldier  melted  into  a  lump ;  and  in  the  ashes  the 
maid  found  him  next  day,  in  the  shape  of  a  little 
tin  heart,  while  of  the  Dancer  nothing  remained 
save  the  tinsel  rose,  and  that  was  burned  as  black 
as  a  coal. 


[76] 


LITTLE  THUMBELINA 

THERE  was  once  a  woman   who   wished 
very   much    to   have    a   little    child.     She 
went  to  a  fairy  and  said :  "  I  should  so  very 
much  like  to  have  a  little  child.    Can  you  tell  me 
where  I  can  find  one  ?  " 

"  Oh,  that  can  be  easily  managed,"  said  the 
fairy.  "  Here  is  a  barleycorn ;  it  is  not  exactly  of 
the  same  sort  as  those  which  grow  in  the  farmers' 
fields,  and  which  the  chickens  eat.  Put  it  into  a 
flowerpot  and  see  what  will  happen." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  the  woman ;  and  she  gave 
the  fairy  twelve  shillings,  which  was  the  price  of 
the  barleycorn.  Then  she  went  home  and  planted 
it,  and  there  grew  up  a  large,  handsome  flower, 
somewhat  like  a  tulip  in  appearance,  but  with  its 
leaves  tightly  closed,  as  if  it  were  still  a  bud. 

[77] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"It  is  a  beautiful  flower,"  said  the  woman, 
and  she  kissed  the  red  and  golden-colored  petals ; 
and  as  she  did  so  the  flower  opened,  and  she 
could  see  that  it  was  a  real  tulip.  But  within 
the  flower,  upon  the  green  velvet  stamens,  sat  a 
very  delicate  and  graceful  little  maiden.  She  was 
scarcely  half  as  long  as  a  thumb,  and  they  gave 
her  the  name  of  Little  Thumb,  or  Thumbelina, 
because  she  was  so  small. 

A  walnut  shell,  elegantly  polished,  served  her 
for  a  cradle ;  her  bed  was  formed  of  blue  violet 
leaves,  with  a  rose  leaf  for  a  counterpane.  Here 
she  slept  at  night,  but  during  the  day  she  amused 
herself  on  a  table,  where  the  peasant  wife  had 
placed  a  plate  full  of  water. 

Round  this  plate  were  wreaths  of  flowers  with 
their  stems  in  the  water,  and  upon  it  floated 
a  large  tulip  leaf,  which  served  the  little  one 
for  a  boat.  Here  she  sat  and  rowed  herself 
from  side  to  side,  with  two  oars  made  of  white 
horsehair.  It  was  a  very  pretty  sight.  Thum- 
belina could  also  sing  so  softly  and  sweetly 
that  nothing  like  her  singing  had  ever  before 
been  heard. 

[78] 


LITTLE   THUMBELINA 

One  night,  while  she  lay  in  her  pretty  bed,  a 
large,  ugly,  wet  toad  crept  through  a  broken  pane 
of  glass  in  the  window  and  leaped  right  upon 
the  table  where  she  lay  sleeping  under  her  rose- 
leaf  quilt. 

"  What  a  pretty  little  wife  this  would  make  for 
my  son,"  said  the  toad,  and  she  took  up  the 
walnut  shell  in  which  Thumbelina  lay  asleep, 
and  jumped  through  the  window  with  it,  into 
the  garden. 

In  the  swampy  margin  of  a  broad  stream  in 
the  garden  lived  the  toad  with  her  son.  He  was 
uglier  even  than  his  mother;  and  when  he  saw 
the  pretty  little  maiden  in  her  elegant  bed,  he 
could  only  cry  "  Croak,  croak,  croak." 

"  Don't  speak  so  loud,  or  she  will  wake,"  said 
the  toad,  "  and  then  she  might  run  away,  for  she 
is  as  light  as  swan's-down.  We  will  place  her  on 
one  of  the  water-lily  leaves  out  in  the  stream;  it 
will  be  like  an  island  to  her,  she  is  so  light  and 
small,  and  then  she  cannot  escape ;  and  while 
she  is  there  we  will  make  haste  and  prepare  the 
stateroom  under  the  marsh,  in  which  you  are  to 
live  when  you  are  married." 

[79] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

Far  out  in  the  stream  grew  a  number  of  water 
lilies  with  broad  green  leaves  which  seemed  to 
float  on  the  top  of  the  water.  The  largest  of 
these  leaves  appeared  farther  off  than  the  rest, 
and  the  old  toad  swam  out  to  it  with  the  walnut 
shell,  in  which  Thumbelina  still  lay  asleep. 

The  tiny  creature  woke  very  early  in  the  morn- 
ing and  began  to  cry  bitterly  when  she  found 
where  she  was,  for  she  could  see  nothing  but 
water  on  every  side  of  the  large  green  leaf,  and 
no  way  of  reaching  the  land. 

Meanwhile  the  old  toad  was  very  busy  under 
the  marsh,  decking  her  room  with  rushes  and 
yellow  wildflowers,  to  make  it  look  pretty  for  her 
new  daughter-in-law.  Then  she  swam  out  with  her 
ugly  son  to  the  leaf  on  which  she  had  placed  poor 
Thumbelina.  She  wanted  to  bring  the  pretty  bed, 
that  she  might  put  it  in  the  bridal  chamber  to  be 
ready  for  her.  The  old  toad  bowed  low  to  her  in 
the  water  and  said,  "  Here  is  my  son;  he  will  be 
your  husband,  and  you  will  live  happily  together 
in  the  marsh  by  the  stream." 

"  Croak,  croak,  croak,"  was  all  her  son  could 
say  for  himself.  So  the  toad  took  up  the  elegant 

rsoi 


LITTLE   THUMBELINA 

little  bed  and  swam  away  with  it,  leaving  Thum- 
belina  all  alone  on  the  green  leaf,  where  she  sat 
and  wept.  She  could  not  bear  to  think  of  living 
with  the  old  toad  and  having  her  ugly  son  for  a 
husband.  The  little  fishes  who  swam  about  in 
the  water  beneath  had  seen  the  toad  and  heard 
what  she  said,  so  now  they  lifted  their  heads 
above  the  water  to  look  at  the  little  maiden. 

As  soon  as  they  caught  sight  of  her  they  saw 
she  was  very  pretty,  and  it  vexed  them  to  think 
that  she  must  go  and  live  with  the  ugly  toads. 

"  No,  it  must  never  be !  "  So  they  gathered 
together  in  the  water,  round  the  green  stalk 
which  held  the  leaf  on  which  the  little  maiden 
stood,  and  gnawed  it  away  at  the  root  with  their 
teeth.  Then  the  leaf  floated  down  the  stream,  car- 
rying Thumbelina  far  away  out  of  reach  of  land. 

Thumbelina  sailed  past  many  towns,  and  the 
little  birds  in  the  bushes  saw  her  and  sang, 
"  What  a  lovely  little  creature."  So  the  leaf  swam 
away  with  her  farther  and  farther,  till  it  brought 
her  to  other  lands.  A  graceful  little  white  butter- 
fly constantly  fluttered  round  her  and  at  last 
alighted  on  the  leaf.  The  little  maiden  pleased 

[81] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

him,  and  she  was  glad  of  it,  for  now  the  toad  could 
not  possibly  reach  her,  and  the  country  through 
which  she  sailed  was  beautiful,  and  the  sun  shone 
upon  the  water  till  it  glittered  like  liquid  gold. 
She  took  off  her  girdle  and  tied  one  end  of  it 
round  the  butterfly,  fastening  the  other  end  of  the 
ribbon  to  the  leaf,  which  now  glided  on  much  faster 
than  before,  taking  Thumbelina  with  it  as  she  stood. 

Presently  a  large  cockchafer  flew  by.  The  mo- 
ment he  caught  sight  of  her  he  seized  her  round 
her  delicate  waist  with  his  claws  and  flew  with 
her  into  a  tree.  The  green  leaf  floated  away  on 
the  brook,  and  the  butterfly  flew  with  it,  for  he 
was  fastened  to  it  and  could  not  get  away. 

Oh,  how  frightened  Thumbelina  felt  when  the 
cockchafer  flew  with  her  to  the  tree!  But  espe- 
cially was  she  sorry  for  the  beautiful  white  butter- 
fly which  she  had  fastened  to  the  leaf,  for  if  he 
could  not  free  himself  he  would  die  of  hunger. 
But  the  cockchafer  did  not  trouble  himself  at  all 
about  the  matter.  He  seated  himself  by  her  side, 
on  a  large  green  leaf,  gave  her  some  honey  from 
the  flowers  to  eat,  and  told  her  she  was  very 
pretty,  though  not  in  the  least  like  a  cockchafer. 

[82] 


lidcd  on  mucn  faster 

tWn  before 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

After  a  time  all  the  cockchafers  who  lived  in 
the  tree  came  to  pay  Thumbelina  a  visit.  They 
stared  at  her,  and  then  the  young  lady  cock- 
chafers turned  up  their  feelers  and  said,  "  She 
has  only  two  legs !  how  ugly  that  looks."  "  She 
has  no  feelers,"  said  another.  "  Her  waist  is  quite 
slim.  Pooh  !  she  is  like  a  human  being." 

"  Oh,  she  is  ugly,"  said  all  the  lady  cockchafers. 
The  cockchafer  who  had  run  away  with  her  be- 
lieved all  the  others  when  they  said  she  was  ugly. 
He  would  have  nothing  more  to  say  to  her,  and 
told  her  she  might  go  where  she  liked.  Then  he 
flew  down  with  her  from  the  tree  and  placed  her 
on  a  daisy,  and  she  wept  at  the  thought  that  she 
was  so  ugly  that  even  the  cockchafers  would  have 
nothing  to  say  to  her.  And  all  the  while  she  was 
really  the  loveliest  creature  that  one  could  im- 
agine, and  as  tender  and  delicate  as  a  beautiful 
rose  leaf. 

During  the  whole  summer  poor  little  Thumbe- 
lina lived  quite  alone  in  the  wide  forest.  She 
wove  herself  a  bed  with  blades  of  grass  and  hung 
it  up  under  a  broad  leaf,  to  protect  herself  from 
the  rain.  She  sucked  the  honey  from  the  flowers 

[84] 


LITTLE    THUMBELINA 

for  food  and  drank   the  dew  from   their  leaves 
every  morning. 

So  passed  away  the  summer  and  the  autumn, 
and  then  came  the  winter — the  long,  cold  winter. 
All  the  birds  who  had  sung  to  her  so  sweetly  had 
flown  away,  and  the  trees  and  the  flowers  had 
withered.  The  large  shamrock  under  the  shelter 
of  which  she  had  lived  was  now  rolled  together 
and  shriveled  up ;  nothing  remained  but  a  yellow, 
withered  stalk.  She  felt  dreadfully  cold,  for  her 
clothes  were  torn,  and  she  was  herself  so  frail  and 
delicate  that  she  was  nearly  frozen  to  death.  It 
began  to  snow,  too ;  and  the  snowflakes,  as  they 
fell  upon  her,  were  like  a  whole  shovelful  falling 
upon  one  of  us,  for  we  are  tall,  but  she  was  only 
an  inch  high.  She  wrapped  herself  in  a  dry  leaf, 
but  it  cracked  in  the  middle  and  could  not  keep 
her  warm,  and  she  shivered  with  cold. 

Near  the  wood  in  which  she  had  been  living 
was  a  large  cornfield,  but  the  corn  had  been 
cut  a  long  time ;  nothing  remained  but  the 
bare,  dry  stubble,  standing  up  out  of  the  frozen 
ground.  It  was  to  her  like  struggling  through 
a  large  wood. 

[85] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

Oh !  how  she  shivered  with  the  cold.  She  came 
at  last  to  the  door  of  a  field  mouse,  who  had  a 
little  den  under  the  corn  stubble.  There  dwelt 
the  field  mouse  in  warmth  and  comfort,  with  a 
whole  roomful  of  corn,  a  kitchen,  and  a  beautiful 
dining  room.  Poor  Thumbelina  stood  before  the 
door,  just  like  a  little  beggar  girl,  and  asked  for 
a  small  piece  of  barleycorn,  for  she  had  been 
without  a  morsel  to  eat  for  two  days. 

"  You  poor  little  creature,"  said  the  field  mouse, 
for  she  was  really  a  good  old  mouse,  "  come  into 
my  warm  room  and  dine  with  me." 

She  was  pleased  with  Thumbelina,  so  she  said, 
"  You  are  quite  welcome  to  stay  with  me  all  the 
winter,  if  you  like ;  but  you  must  keep  my  rooms 
clean  and  neat,  and  tell  me  stories,  for  I  shall  like 
to  hear  them  very  much."  And  Thumbelina  did 
all  that  the  field  mouse  asked  her,  and  found 
herself  very  comfortable. 

"We  shall  have  a  visitor  soon,"  said  the  field 
mouse  one  day;  "my  neighbor  pays  me  a  visit 
once  a  week.  He  is  better  off  than  I  am ;  he  has 
large  rooms,  and  wears  a  beautiful  black  velvet 
coat.  If  you  could  only  have  him  for  a  husband, 

[861 


LITTLE   THUMBELINA 

you  would  be  well  provided  for  indeed.  But  he 
is  blind,  so  you  must  tell  him  some  of  your  pret- 
tiest stories." 

Thumbelina  did  not  feel  at  all  interested  about 
this  neighbor,  for  he  was  a  mole.  However,  he 
came  and  paid  his  visit,  dressed  in  his  black 
velvet  coat. 

"He  is  very  rich  and  learned,  and  his  house 
is  twenty  times  larger  than  mine,"  said  the  field 
mouse. 

He  was  rich  and  learned,  no  doubt,  but  he 
always  spoke  slightingly  of  the  sun  and  the 
pretty  flowers,  because  he  had  never  seen  them. 
Thumbelina  was  obliged  to  sing  to  him,  "  Lady- 
bird, ladybird,  fly  away  home,"  and  many  other 
pretty  songs.  And  the  mole  fell  in  love  with  her 
because  she  had  so  sweet  a  voice ;  but  he  said 
nothing  yet,  for  he  was  very  prudent  and  cautious. 
A  short  time  before,  the  mole  had  dug  a  long 
passage  under  the  earth,  which  led  from  the  dwell- 
ing of  the  field  mouse  to  his  own,  and  here  she 
had  permission  to  walk  with  Thumbelina  when- 
ever she  liked.  But  he  warned  them  not  to  be 
alarmed  at  the  sight  of  a  dead  bird  which  lay 

.[87] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

in  the  passage.  It  was  a  perfect  bird,  with  a 
beak  and  feathers,  and  could  not  have  been  dead 
long.  It  was  lying  just  where  the  mole  had  made 
his  passage.  The  mole  took  in  his  mouth  a  piece 
of  phosphorescent  wood,  which  glittered  like  fire 
in  the  dark.  Then  he  went  before  them  to  light 
them  through  the  long,  dark  passage.  When  they 
came  to  the  spot  where  the  dead  bird  lay,  the 
mole  pushed  his  broad  nose  through  the  ceiling, 
so  that  the  earth  gave  way  and  the  daylight 
shone  into  the  passage. 

In  the  middle  of  the  floor  lay  a  swallow,  his 
beautiful  wings  pulled  close  to  his  sides,  his  feet 
and  head  drawn  up  under  his  feathers  —  the  poor 
bird  had  evidently  died  of  the  cold.  It  made 
little  Thumbelina  very  sad  to  see  it,  she  did  so 
love  the  little  birds;  all  the  summer  they  had 
sung  and  twittered  for  her  so  beautifully.  But  the 
mole  pushed  it  aside  with  his  crooked  legs  and 
said :  "  He  will  sing  no  more  now.  How  miserable 
it  must  be  to  be  born  a  little  bird !  I  am  thank- 
ful that  none  of  my  children  will  ever  be  birds, 
for  they  can  do  nothing  but  cry  *  Tweet,  tweet,' 
and  must  always  die  of  hunger  in  the  winter." 

[88] 


LITTLE    THUMBELINA 

'  Yes,  you  may  well  say  that,  as  a  clever  man !  " 
exclaimed  the  field  mouse.  "  What  is  the  use  of  his 
twittering  if,  when  winter  comes,  he  must  either 
starve  or  be  frozen  to  death?  Still,  birds  are  very 
high  bred." 

Thumbelina  said  nothing,  but  when  the  two 
others  had  turned  their  backs  upon  the  bird,  she 
stooped  down  and  stroked  aside  the  soft  feathers 
which  covered  his  head,  and  kissed  the  closed 
eyelids.  "  Perhaps  this  was  the  one  who  sang  to 
me  so  sweetly  in  the  summer,"  she  said ;  "  and 
how  much  pleasure  it  gave  me,  you  dear,  pretty 
bird." 

The  mole  now  stopped  up  the  hole  through 
which  the  daylight  shone,  and  then  accompanied 
the  ladies  home.  But  during  the  night  Thumbe- 
lina could  not  sleep ;  so  she  got  out  of  bed  and 
wove  a  large,  beautiful  carpet  of  hay.  She  carried 
it  to  the  dead  bird  and  spread  it  over  him,  with 
some  down  from  the  flowers  which  she  had  found 
in  the  field  mouse's  room.  It  was  as  soft  as  wool, 
and  she  spread  some  of  it  on  each  side  of  the 
bird,  so  that  he  might  lie  warmly  in  the  cold 
earth. 

[89] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"  Farewell,  pretty  little  bird,"  said  she,  "  fare- 
well. Thank  you  for  your  delightful  singing 
during  the  summer,  when  all  the  trees  were 
green  and  the  warm  sun  shone  upon  us."  Then 
she  laid  her  head  on  the  bird's  breast,  but  she 
was  alarmed,  for  it  seemed  as  if  something  inside 
the  bird  went  "  thump,  thump."  It  was  the  bird's 
heart ;  he  was  not  really  dead,  only  benumbed 
with  the  cold,  and  the  warmth  had  restored  him 
to  life.  In  autumn  all  the  swallows  fly  away  into 
warm  countries ;  but  if  one  happens  to  linger,  the 
cold  seizes  it,  and  it  becomes  chilled  and  falls 
down  as  if  dead.  It  remains  where  it  fell,  and 
the  cold  snow  covers  it. 

Thumbelina  trembled  very  much;  she  was 
quite  frightened,  for  the  bird  was  large,  a  great 
deal  larger  than  herself  (she  was  only  an  inch 
high).  But  she  took  courage,  laid  the  wool  more 
thickly  over  the  poor  swallow,  and  then  took  a 
leaf  which  she  had  used  for  her  own  counterpane 
and  laid  it  over  his  head. 

The  next  night  she  again  stole  out  to  see  him. 
He  was  alive,  but  very  weak ;  he  could  only  open 
his  eyes  for  a  moment  to  look  at  Thumbelina, 

[90] 


LITTLE    THUMBELINA 

who  stood  by,  holding  a  piece  of  decayed  wood  in 
her  hand,  for  she  had  no  other  lantern.  :'  Thank 
you,  pretty  little  maiden,"  said  the  sick  swallow; 
"  I  have  been  so  nicely  warmed  that  I  shall  soon 
regain  my  strength  and  be  able  to  fly  about 
again  in  the  warm  sunshine." 

"Oh,"  said  she,  "it  is  cold  out  of  doors  now; 
it  snows  and  freezes.  Stay  in  your  warm  bed; 
I  will  take  care  of  you." 

She  brought  the  swallow  some  water  in  a 
flower  leaf,  and  after  he  had  drunk,  he  told  her 
that  he  had  wounded  one  of  his  wings  in  a  thorn- 
bush  and  could  not  fly  as  fast  as  the  others,  who 
were  soon  far  away  on  their  journey  to  warm 
countries.  At  last  he  had  fallen  to  the  earth,  and 
could  remember  nothing  more,  nor  how  he  came 
to  be  where  she  had  found  him. 

All  winter  the  swallow  remained  underground, 
and  Thumbelina  nursed  him  with  care  and  love. 
She  did  not  tell  either  the  mole  or  the  field 
mouse  anything  about  it,  for  they  did  not  like 
swallows.  Very  soon  the  springtime  came,  and 
the  sun  warmed  the  earth.  Then  the  swallow 
bade  farewell  to  Thumbelina,  and  she  opened  the 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

hole  in  the  ceiling  which  the  mole  had  made. 
The  sun  shone  in  upon  them  so  beautifully  that 
the  swallow  asked  her  if  she  would  go  with  him. 
She  could  sit  on  his  back,  he  said,  and  he  would 
fly  away  with  her  into  the  green  woods.  But  she 
knew  it  would  grieve  the  field  mouse  if  she  left 
her  in  that  manner,  so  she  said,  "  No,  I  cannot." 
"  Farewell,  then,  farewell,  you  good,  pretty 
little  maiden,"  said  the  swallow,  and  he  flew  out 
into  the  sunshine. 

Thumbelina  looked  after  him,  and  the  tears 
rose  in  her  eyes.  She  was  very  fond  of  the  poor 
swallow. 

'  Tweet,  tweet,"  sang  the  bird,  as  he  flew  out 
into  the  green  woods,  and  Thumbelina  felt  very 
sad.  She  was  not  allowed  to  go  out  into  the 
warm  sunshine.  The  corn  which  had  been  sowed 
in  the  field  over  the  house  of  the  field  mouse  had 
grown  up  high  into  the  air  and  formed  a  thick 
wood  to  Thumbelina,  who  was  only  an  inch  in 
height. 

"  You  are  going  to  be  married,  little  one,"  said 
the  field  mouse.  "  My  neighbor  has  asked  for 

[92] 


roust  Le 
you  2o»e   the  wife 


of  the  mole   o 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

you.  What  good  fortune  for  a  poor  child  like 
you!  Now  we  will  prepare  your  wedding  clothes. 
They  must  be  woolen  and  linen.  Nothing  must 
be  wanting  when  you  are  the  wife  of  the  mole." 

Thumbelina  had  to  turn  the  spindle,  and  the 
field  mouse  hired  four  spiders,  who  were  to  weave 
day  and  night.  Every  evening  the  mole  visited 
her  and  was  continually  speaking  of  the  time 
when  the  summer  would  be  over.  Then  he 
would  keep  his  wedding  day  with  Thumbelina; 
but  now  the  heat  of  the  sun  was  so  great  that  it 
burned  the  earth  and  made  it  hard,  like  stone. 
As  soon  as  the  summer  was  over  the  wedding 
should  take  place.  But  Thumbelina  was  not  at 
all  pleased,  for  she  did  not  like  the  tiresome  mole. 

Every  morning  when  the  sun  rose  and  every 
evening  when  it  went  down  she  would  creep  out 
at  the  door,  and  as  the  wind  blew  aside  the  ears 
of  corn  so  that  she  could  see  the  blue  sky,  she 
thought  how  beautiful  and  bright  it  seemed  out 
there  and  wished  so  much  to  see  her  dear  friend, 
the  swallow,  again.  But  he  never  returned,  for 
by  this  time  he  had  flown  far  away  into  the  lovely 
green  forest. 

[94] 


LITTLE    THUMBELINA 

When  autumn  arrived  Thumbelina  had  her  out- 
fit quite  ready,  and  the  field  mouse  said  to  her, 
"In  four  weeks  the  wedding  must  take  place." 

Then  she  wept  and  said  she  would  not  marry 
the  disagreeable  mole. 

"  Nonsense,"  replied  the  field  mouse.  "  Now 
don't  be  obstinate,  or  I  shall  bite  you  with  my 
white  teeth.  He  is  a  very  handsome  mole ;  the 
queen  herself  does  not  wear  more  beautiful  vel- 
vets and  furs.  His  kitchens  and  cellars  are  quite 
full.  You  ought  to  be  very  thankful  for  such 
good  fortune." 

So  the  wedding  day  was  fixed,  on  which  the 
mole  was  to  take  her  away  to  live  with  him,  deep 
under  the  earth,  and  never  again  to  see  the  warm 
sun,  because  he  did  not  like  it.  The  poor  child  was 
very  unhappy  at  the  thought  of  saying  farewell 
to  the  beautiful  sun,  and  as  the  field  mouse  had 
given  her  permission  to  stand  at  the  door,  she 
went  to  look  at  it  once  more. 

"  Farewell,  bright  sun,"  she  cried,  stretching  out 
her  arm  towards  it ;  and  then  she  walked  a  short 
distance  from  the  house,  for  the  corn  had  been 
cut,  and  only  the  dry  stubble  remained  in  the 

[95] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

fields.  "  Farewell,  farewell,"  she  repeated,  twining 
her  arm  around  a  little  red  flower  that  grew  just 
by  her  side.  "  Greet  the  little  swallow  from  me,  if 
you  should  see  him  again." 

:'  Tweet,  tweet,"  sounded  over  her  head  sud- 
denly. She  looked  up,  and  there  was  the  swallow 
himself  flying  close  by.  As  soon  as  he  spied 
Thumbelina  he  was  delighted.  She  told  him  how 
unwilling  she  was  to  marry  the  ugly  mole,  and  to 
live  always  beneath  the  earth,  nevermore  to  see 
the  bright  sun.  And  as  she  told  him,  she  wept. 

"  Cold  winter  is  coming,"  said  the  swallow, 
"  and  I  am  going  to  fly  away  into  warmer  coun- 
tries. Will  you  go  with  me  ?  You  can  sit  on  my 
back  and  fasten  yourself  on  with  your  sash.  Then 
we  can  fly  away  from  the  ugly  mole  and  his  gloomy 
rooms  —  far  away,  over  the  mountains,  into 
warmer  countries,  where  the  sun  shines  more 
brightly  than  here  ;  where  it  is  always  summer, 
and  the  flowers  bloom  in  greater  beauty.  Fly 
now  with  me,  dear  little  one ;  you  saved  my  life 
when  I  lay  frozen  in  that  dark,  dreary  passage." 

"  Yes,  I  will  go  with  you,"  said  Thumbelina; 
and  she  seated  herself  on  the  bird's  back,  with  her 

[96] 


LITTLE    THUMBELINA 

feet  on  his  outstretched  wings,  and  tied  her  girdle 
to  one  of  his  strongest  feathers. 

The  swallow  rose  in  the  air  and  flew  over  forest 
and  over  sea  —  high  above  the  highest  mountains, 
covered  with  eternal  snow.  Thumbelina  would 
have  been  frozen  in  the  cold  air,  but  she  crept 
under  the  bird's  warm  feathers,  keeping  her  little 
head  uncovered,  so  that  she  might  admire  the 
beautiful  lands  over  which  they  passed.  At 
length  they  reached  the  warm  countries,  where 
the  sun  shines  brightly  and  the  sky  seems  so 
much  higher  above  the  earth.  Here  on  the 
hedges  and  by  the  wayside  grew  purple,  green, 
and  white  grapes,  lemons  and  oranges  hung  from 
trees  in  the  fields,  and  the  air  was  fragrant  with 
myrtles  and  orange  blossoms.  Beautiful  children 
ran  along  the  country  lanes,  playing  with  large 
gay  butterflies ;  and  as  the  swallow  flew  farther 
and  farther,  every  place  appeared  still  more 
lovely. 

At  last  they  came  to  a  blue  lake,  and  by  the  side 
of  it,  shaded  by  trees  of  the  deepest  green,  stood  a 
palace  of  dazzling  white  marble,  built  in  the  olden 
times.  Vines  clustered  round  its  lofty  pillars,  and 

[97] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

at  the  top  were  many  swallows'  nests,  and  one  of 
these  was  the  home  of  the  swallow  who  carried 
Thumbelina. 

:f  This  is  my  house,"  said  the  swallow ;  "  but 
it  would  not  do  for  you  to  live  there  —  you  would 
not  be  comfortable.  You  must  choose  for  yourself 
one  of  those  lovely  flowers,  and  I  will  put  you 
down  upon  it,  and  then  you  shall  have  everything 
that  you  can  wish  to  make  you  happy." 

:'  That  will  be  delightful,"  she  said,  and  clapped 
her  little  hands  for  joy. 

A  large  marble  pillar  lay  on  the  ground,  which, 
in  falling,  had  been  broken  into  three  pieces.  Be- 
tween these  pieces  grew  the  most  beautiful  large 
white  flowers,  so  the  swallow  flew  down  with 
Thumbelina  and  placed  her  on  one  of  the  broad 
leaves.  But  how  surprised  she  was  to  see  in  the 
middle  of  the  flower  a  tiny  little  man,  as  white 
and  transparent  as  if  he  had  been  made  of  crystal ! 
He  had  a  gold  crown  on  his  head,  and  delicate 
wings  at  his  shoulders,  and  was  not  much  larger 
than  was  she  herself.  He  was  the  angel  of  the 
flower,  for  a  tiny  man  and  a  tiny  woman  dwell  in 
every  flower,  and  this  was  the  king  of  them  all. 

[98] 


LITTLE   THUMBELINA 

"  Oh,  how  beautiful  he  is  !  "  whispered  Thumbe- 
lina  to  the  swallow. 

The  little  prince  was  at  first  quite  frightened  at 
the  bird,  who  was  like  a  giant  compared  to  such  a 
delicate  little  creature  as  himself ;  but  when  he 
saw  Thumbelina  he  was  delighted  and  thought 
her  the  prettiest  little  maiden  he  had  ever  seen. 
He  took  the  gold  crown  from  his  head  and  placed 
it  on  hers,  and  asked  her  name  and  if  she  would 
be  his  wife  and  queen  over  all  the  flowers. 

This  certainly  was  a  very  different  sort  of  hus- 
band from  the  son  of  the  toad,  or  the  mole  with 
his  black  velvet  and  fur,  so  she  said  Yes  to  the 
handsome  prince.  Then  all  the  flowers  opened, 
and  out  of  each  came  a  little  lady  or  a  tiny  lord, 
all  so  pretty  it  was  quite  a  pleasure  to  look  at 
them.  Each  of  them  brought  Thumbelina  a  pres- 
ent; but  the  best  gift  was  a  pair  of  beautiful 
wings,  which  had  belonged  to  a  large  white  fly, 
and  they  fastened  them  to  Thumbelina's  shoulders, 
so  that  she  might  fly  from  flower  to  flower. 

Then  there  was  much  rejoicing,  and  the  little 
swallow,  who  sat  above  them  in  his  nest,  was 
asked  to  sing  a  wedding  song,  which  he  did  as 

[99] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

well  as  he  could ;  but  in  his  heart  he  felt  sad,  for 
he  was  very  fond  of  Thumbelina  and  would  have 
liked  never  to  part  from  her  again. 

"  You  must  not  be  called  Thumbelina  any 
more,"  said  the  spirit  of  the  flowers  to  her.  "It 
is  an  ugly  name,  and  you  are  so  very  lovely.  We 
will  call  you  Maia." 

"  Farewell,  farewell,"  said  the  swallow,  with  a 
heavy  heart,  as  he  left  the  warm  countries,  to  fly 
back  into  Denmark.  There  he  had  a  nest  over 
the  window  of  a  house  in  which  dwelt  the  writer 
of  fairy  tales.  The  swallow  sang  "  Tweet,  tweet," 
and  from  his  song  came  the  whole  story. 


[  100  ] 


SUNSHINE  STORIES 

AM  going  to  tell  a  story,"  said  the  Wind. 
"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  the  Rain,  "but 
now  it  is  my  turn.  Have  you  not  been 
howling  round  the  corner  this  long  time,  as  hard 
as  ever  you  could  ?  " 

"Is  this  the  gratitude  you  owe  me?  "  said  the 
Wind;  "  I,  who  in  honor  of  you  turn  inside  out 
—  yes,  even  break  —  all  the  umbrellas,  when  the 
people  won't  have  anything  to  do  with  you." 

"  I  will  speak  myself,"  said  the  Sunshine. 
"  Silence !  "  and  the  Sunshine  said  it  with  such 
glory  and  majesty  that  the  weary  Wind  fell  pros- 
trate, and  the  Rain,  beating  against  him,  shook 
him,  as  she  said : 

"  We  won't  stand  it !  She  is  always  breaking 
through  —  is  Madame  Sunshine.  Let  us  not 

[I01J 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

1  fete  IT  'to  'her  4'  -what  she  has  to  say  is  not  worth 
hearing."  And  still  the  Sunshine  began  to  talk, 
and  this  is  what  she  said: 

"A  beautiful  swan  flew  over  the  rolling,  toss- 
ing waves  of  the  ocean.  Every  one  of  its  feathers 
shone  like  gold ;  and  one  feather  drifted  down  to 
the  great  merchant  vessel  that,  with  sails  all  set, 
was  sailing  away. 

:t  The  feather  fell  upon  the  light  curly  hair  of 
a  young  man,  whose  business  it  was  to  care  for 
the  goods  in  the  ship  —  the  supercargo  he  was 
called.  The  feather  of  the  bird  of  fortune  touched 
his  forehead,  became  a  pen  in  his  hand,  and 
brought  him  such  luck  that  he  soon  became  a 
wealthy  merchant,  rich  enough  to  have  bought 
for  himself  spurs  of  gold  —  rich  enough  to  change 
a  golden  plate  into  a  nobleman's  shield,  on  which," 
said  the  Sunshine,  "  I  shone." 

'  The  swan  flew  farther,  away  and  away,  over 
the  sunny  green  meadow,  where  the  little  shep- 
herd boy,  only  seven  years  old,  had  lain  down 
in  the  shade  of  the  old  tree,  the  only  one  there 
was  in  sight. 

[102] 


SUNSHINE    STORIES 

"In  its  flight  the  swan  kissed  one  of  the  leaves 
of  the  tree,  and  falling  into  the  boy's  hand,  it  was 
changed  to  three  leaves  —  to  ten  —  to  a  whole 
book;  yes,  and  in  the  book  he  read  about  all 
the  wonders  of  nature,  about  his  native  language, 
about  faith  and  knowledge.  At  night  he  laid  the 
book  under  his  pillow,  that  he  might  not  forget 
what  he  had  been  reading. 

*  The  wonderful  book  led  him  also  to  the 
schoolroom,  and  thence  everywhere,  in  search  of 
knowledge.  I  have  read  his  name  among  the 
names  of  learned  men,"  said  the  Sunshine. 

'  The  swan  flew  into  the  quiet,  lonely  forest, 
and  rested  awhile  on  the  deep,  dark  lake  where 
the  lilies  grow,  where  the  wild  apples  are  to  be 
found  on  the  shore,  where  the  cuckoo  and  the 
wild  pigeon  have  their  homes. 

"In  the  wood  was  a  poor  woman  gathering 
firewood  —  branches  and  dry  sticks  that  had 
fallen.  She  bore  them  on  her  back  in  a  bundle, 
and  in  her  arms  she  held  her  little  child.  She 
too  saw  the  golden  swan,  the  bird  of  fortune,  as 
it  rose  from  among  the  reeds  on  the  shore.  What 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

was  it  that  glittered  so?  A  golden  egg  that  was 
still  quite  warm.  She  laid  it  in  her  bosom,  and  the 
warmth  remained.  Surely  there  was  life  in  the  egg  ! 
She  heard  the  gentle  pecking  inside  the  shell,  but 
she  thought  it  was  her  own  heart  that  was  beating. 

"  At  home  in  her  poor  cottage  she  took  out 
the  egg.  *  Tick !  tick ! '  it  said,  as  if  it  had  been 
a  gold  watch,  but  it  was  not ;  it  was  an  egg  —  a 
real,  living  egg. 

'  The  egg  cracked  and  opened,  and  a  dear  lit- 
tle baby  swan,  all  feathered  as  with  the  purest 
gold,  pushed  out  its  tiny  head.  Around  its  neck 
were  four  rings,  and  as  this  woman  had  four 
boys  —  three  at  home,  and  this  little  one  that  was 
with  her  in  the  lonely  wood  - —  she  understood  at 
once  that  there  was  one  for  each  boy.  Just  as  she 
had  taken  them  the  little  gold  bird  took  flight. 

"  She  kissed  each  ring,  then  made  each  of  the 
children  kiss  one  of  the  rings,  laid  it  next  the 
child's  heart  awhile,  then  put  it  on  his  finger.  I 
saw  it  all,"  said  the  Sunshine,  "  and  I  saw  what 
happened  afterward. 

"  One  of  the  boys,  while  playing  by  a  ditch, 
took  a  lump  of  clay  in  his  hand,  then  turned  and 

[  104] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

twisted  it  till  it  took  shape  and  was  like  Jason, 
who  went  in  search  of  the  Golden  Fleece  and 
found  it. 

:'  The  second  boy  ran  out  upon  the  meadow, 
where  stood  the  flowers  —  flowers  of  all  imagina- 
ble colors.  He  gathered  a  handful  and  squeezed 
them  so  tightly  that  the  juice  flew  into  his  eyes, 
and  some  of  it  wet  the  ring  upon  his  hand.  It 
cribbled  and  crawled  in  his  brain  and  in  his 
hands,  and  after  many  a  day  and  many  a  year, 
people  in  the  great  city  talked  of  the  famous 
painter  that  he  was. 

"The  third  child  held  the  ring  in  his  teeth, 
and  so  tightly  that  it  gave  forth  sound  —  the  echo 
of  a  song  in  the  depth  of  his  heart.  Then 
thoughts  and  feelings  rose  in  beautiful  sounds, — 
rose  like  singing  swans,  —  plunged,  too,  like  swans, 
into  the  deep,  deep  sea.  He  became  a  great 
musical  composer,  a  master,  of  whom  every  coun- 
try has  the  right  to  say,  '  He  was  mine,  for  he 
was  the  world's.' 

"And  the  fourth  little  one  —  yes,  he  was  the 
'  ugly  duck '  of  the  family.  They  said  he  had  the 
pip  and  must  eat  pepper  and  butter  like  a  sick 

[106] 


SUNSHINE    STORIES 

chicken,  and  that  was  what  was  given  him ;  but 
of  me  he  got  a  warm,  sunny  kiss,"  said  the  Sun- 
shine. "  He  had  ten  kisses  for  one.  He  was  a 
poet  and  was  first  kissed,  then  buffeted  all  his 
life  through. 

"  But  he  held  what  no  one  could  take  from 
him  —  the  ring  of  fortune  from  Dame  Fortune's 
golden  swan.  His  thoughts  took  wing  and  flew 
up  and  away  like  singing  butterflies  —  emblems 
of  an  immortal  life." 

"  That  was  a  dreadfully  long  story,"  said  the 
Wind. 

"And  so  stupid  and  tiresome,"  said  the  Rain. 
"  Blow  upon  me,  please,  that  I  may  revive  a  little." 

And  while  the  Wind  blew,  the  Sunshine  said: 
:<  The  swan  of  fortune  flew  over  the  lovely  bay 
where  the  fishermen  had  set  their  nets.  The 
very  poorest  one  among  them  was  wishing  to 
marry  —  and  marry  he  did. 

'  To  him  the  swan  brought  a  piece  of  amber. 
Amber  draws  things  toward  itself,  and  this  piece 
drew  hearts  to  the  house  where  the  fisherman 
lived  with  his  bride.  Amber  is  the  most  wonder- 
ful of  incense,  and  there  came  a  soft  perfume,  as 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

from  a  holy  place,  a  sweet  breath  from  beautiful 
nature,  that  God  has  made.  And  the  fisherman 
and  his  wife  were  happy  and  grateful  in  their 
peaceful  home,  content  even  in  their  poverty. 
And  so  their  life  became  a  real  Sunshine  Story." 

"  I  think  we  had  better  stop  now,"  said  the 
Wind.  "  I  am  dreadfully  bored.  The  Sunshine 
has  talked  long  enough." 

"  I  think  so,  too,"  said  the  Rain. 

And  what  do  we  others  who  have  heard  the 
story  say? 

We  say,  "  Now  the  story 's  done." 


[108] 


THE   DARNING-NEEDLE 

y  {{  MHERE  was  once  a  Darning-needle  who 
thought  herself  so  fine  that  she  came  at  last 
to  believe  that  she  was  fit  for  embroidery. 

"  Mind  now  that  you  hold  me  fast,"  she  said  to 
the  Fingers  that  took  her  up.  "  Pray  don't  lose 
me.  If  I  should  fall  on  the  ground  I  should  cer- 
tainly be  lost,  I  am  so  fine." 

'  That 's  more  than  you  can  tell,"  said  the  Fin- 
gers, as  they  grasped  her  tightly  by  the  waist. 

"  I  come  with  a  train,  you  see,"  said  the  Darning- 
needle,  as  she  drew  her  long  thread  after  her ;  but 
there  was  no  knot  in  the  thread. 

The  Fingers  pressed  the  point  of  the  Needle 
upon  an  old  pair  of  slippers,  in  which  the  upper 
leather  had  burst  and  must  be  sewed  together. 
The  slippers  belonged  to  the  cook. 

[  I09] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"  This  is  very  coarse  work ! "  said  the  Darning- 
needle.  "  I  shall  never  get  through  alive.  There, 
I  'm  breaking !  I  'm  breaking !  "  and  break  she  did. 
w  Did  I  not  say  so  ? "  said  the  Darning-needle. 
"  I  'm  too  delicate  for  such  work  as  that." 

"  Now  it 's  quite  useless  for  sewing,"  said  the 
Fingers ;  but  they  still  held  her  all  the  same,  for 
the  cook  presently  dropped  some  melted  sealing 
wax  upon  the  needle  and  then  pinned  her  necker- 
chief in  front  with  it. 

"  See,  now  I  'm  a  breastpin,"  said  the  Darning- 
needle.  "  I  well  knew  that  I  should  come  to 
honor;  when  one  is  something,  one  always  comes 
to  something.  Merit  is  sure  to  rise."  And  at 
this  she  laughed,  only  inwardly,  of  course,  for 
one  can  never  see  when  a  Darning-needle  laughs. 
There  she  sat  now,  quite  at  her  ease,  and  as 
proud  as  if  she  sat  in  a  state  carriage  and  gazed 
upon  all  about  her. 

"  May  I  take  the  liberty  to  ask  if  you  are  made 
of  gold  ? "  she  asked  of  the  pin,  her  neighbor. 
"  You  have  a  splendid  appearance  and  quite  a 
remarkable  head,  though  it  is  so  little.  You 
should  do  what  you  can  to  grow  —  of  course  it  is 

[no] 


THE    DARNING-NEEDLE 

not  every  one  that  can  have  sealing  wax  dropped 
upon  her." 

And  the  Darning-needle  drew  herself  up  so 
proudly  that  she  fell  out  of  the  neckerchief  into  the 
sink,  which  the  cook  was  at  that  moment  rinsing. 

"  Now  I  'm  going  to  travel,"  said  the  Darning- 
needle,  "  if  only  I  don't  get  lost." 

But  that  was  just  what  happened  to  her. 

"  I  'm  too  delicate  for  this  world,"  she  said,  as 
she  found  herself  in  the  gutter.  "  But  I  know 
who  I  am,  and  there  is  always  some  little  pleasure 
in  that ! "  It  was  thus  that  the  Darning-needle 
kept  up  her  proud  bearing  and  lost  none  of  her 
good  humor.  And  now  all  sorts  of  things  swam 
over  her  —  chips  and  straws  and  scraps  of  old 
newspapers. 

"  Only  see  how  they  sail  along,"  said  the  Darn- 
ing-needle to  herself.  "  They  little  know  what  is 
under  them,  though  it  is  I,  and  I  sit  firmly  here. 
See !  there  goes  a  chip !  It  thinks  of  nothing  in 
the  world  but  itself  —  of  nothing  in  the  world  but 
a  chip !  There  floats  a  straw ;  see  how  it  turns 
and  twirls  about.  Do  think  of  something  besides 
yourself  or  you  may  easily  run  against  a  stone. 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

There  swims  a  bit  of  a  newspaper.  What 's  writ- 
ten upon  it  is  forgotten  long  ago,  yet  how  it 
spreads  itself  out  and  gives  itself  airs !  I  sit 
patiently  and  quietly  here !  I  know  what  I  am, 
and  I  shall  remain  the  same  —  always." 

One  day  there  lay  something  beside  her  that 
glittered  splendidly.  She  thought  it  must  be  a 
diamond,  but  it  was  really  only  a  bit  of  broken 
glass  from  a  bottle.  As  it  shone  so  brightly  the 
Darning-needle  spoke  to  it,  introducing  herself 
as  a  breastpin. 

"  You  are  a  diamond,  I  suppose,"  she  said. 

"  Why,  yes,  something  of  the  sort." 

So  each  believed  the  other  to  be  some  rare  and 
costly  trinket;  and  they  began  to  converse  to- 
gether upon  the  world,  saying  how  very  conceited 
it  was. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Darning-needle,  "  I  have  lived 
in  a  young  lady's  box;  and  the  young  lady  hap- 
pened to  be  a  cook.  She  had  five  fingers  upon 
each  of  her  hands,  and  anything  more  conceited 
and  arrogant  than  those  five  fingers,  I  never  saw. 
And  yet  they  were  only  there  that  they  might 
take  me  out  of  the  box  or  put  me  back  again." 

[112] 


THE    DARNING-NEEDLE 

"  Were  they  of  high  descent  ?  "  asked  the  Bit  of 
Bottle.  "  Did  they  shine  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed,"  replied  the  Darning-needle ;  "but 
they  were  none  the  less  haughty.  There  were  five 
brothers  of  them  —  all  of  the  Finger  family.  And 
they  held  themselves  so  proudly  side  by  side, 
though  they  were  of  quite  different  heights.  The 
outermost,  Thumbling  he  was  called,  was  short 
and  thick  set ;  he  generally  stood  out  of  the  rank, 
a  little  in  front  of  the  others ;  he  had  only  one 
joint  in  his  back,  and  could  only  bow  once ;  but 
he  used  to  say  that  if  he  were  cut  off  from  a  man, 
that  man  would  be  cut  off  from  military  service. 
Foreman,  the  second,  put  himself  forward  Dn  all 
occasions,  meddled  with  sweet  and  sour,  pointed 
to  sun  and  moon,  and  when  the  fingers  wrote, 
it  was  he  who  pressed  the  pen.  Middleman,  the 
third  of  the  brothers,  could  look  over  the  others' 
heads,  and  gave  himself  airs  for  that.  Ringman, 
the  fourth,  went  about  with  a  gold  belt  about  his 
waist ;  and  little  Playman,  whom  they  called  Peter 
Spielman,  did  nothing  at  all  and  was  proud  of 
that,  I  suppose.  There  was  nothing  to  be  heard 
but  boasting,  and  that  is  why  I  took  myself  away." 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"And  now  we  sit  here  together  and  shine," 
said  the  Bit  of  Bottle. 

At  that  very  moment  some  water  came  rush- 
ing along  the  gutter,  so  that  it  overflowed  and 
carried  the  glass  diamond  along  with  it. 

"  So  he  is  off,"  said  the  Darning-needle,  "  and 
I  still  remain.  I  am  left  here  because  I  am  too 
slender  and  genteel.  But  that 's  my  pride,  and 
pride  is  honorable."  And  proudly  she  sat,  think- 
ing many  thoughts. 

"  I  could  almost  believe  I  had  been  born  of 
a  sunbeam,  I  'm  so  fine.  It  seems  as  if  the  sun- 
beams were  always  trying  to  seek  me  under  the 
water.  Alas,  I  'm  so  delicate  that  even  my  own 
mother  cannot  find  me.  If  I  had  my  old  eye  still, 
which  broke  off,  I  think  I  should  cry  —  but  no, 
I  would  not ;  it 's  not  genteel  to  weep." 

One  day  a  couple  of  street  boys  were  paddling 
about  in  the  gutter,  hunting  for  old  nails,  pennies, 
and  such  like.  It  was  dirty  work,  but  they  seemed 
to  find  great  pleasure  in  it. 

"  Hullo !  "  cried  one  of  them,  as  he  pricked 
himself  with  the  Darning-needle ;  "  here 's  a  fellow 
for  you !  " 


THE    DARNING-NEEDLE 

"  I  'm  not  a  fellow !  I  'm  a  young  lady !  "  said 
the  Darning-needle,  but  no  one  heard  it. 

The  sealing  wax  had  worn  off,  and  she  had 
become  quite  black ;  "  but  black  makes  one  look 
slender,  and  is  always  becoming."  She  thought 
herself  finer  even  than  before. 

"  There  goes  an  eggshell  sailing  along,"  said 
the  boys;  and  they  stuck  the  Darning-needle 
into  the  shell. 

"A  lady  in  black,  and  within  white  walls!" 
said  the  Darning-needle ;  "  that  is  very  striking. 
Now  every  one  can  see  me.  I  hope  I  shall  not 
be  seasick,  for  then  I  shall  break." 

But  the  fear  was  needless;  she  was  not  sea- 
sick, neither  did  she  break. 

"  Nothing  is  so  good  to  prevent  seasickness  as 
to  have  a  steel  stomach  and  to  bear  in  mind  that 
one  is  something  a  little  more  than  an  ordinary 
person.  My  seasickness  is  all  over  now.  The 
more  genteel  and  honorable  one  is,  the  more 
one  can  endure." 

Crash  went  the  eggshell,  as  a  wagon  rolled 
over  both  of  them.  It  was  a  wonder  that  she 
did  not  break. 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"  Mercy,  what  a  crushing  weight !  "  said  the 
Darning-needle.  "  I  'm  growing  seasick,  after  all. 
I  'm  going  to  break !  " 

But  she  was  not  sick,  and  she  did  not  break, 
though  the  wagon  wheels  rolled  over  her.  She  lay 
at  full  length  in  the  road,  and  there  let  her  lie. 


[116] 


THE   LITTLE   MATCH   GIRL 

T  WAS  dreadfully  cold ;  it  was  snowing  fast, 
and  was  almost  dark,  as  evening  came  on  — 
JJL  the  last  evening  of  the  year.  In  the  cold  and 
the  darkness,  there  went  along  the  street  a  poor 
little  girl,  bareheaded  and  with  naked  feet.  When 
she  left  home  she  had  slippers  on,  it  is  true ;  but 
they  were  much  too  large  for  her  feet  —  slippers 
that  her  mother  had  used  till  then,  and  the  poor 
little  girl  lost  them  in  running  across  the  street 
when  two  carriages  were  passing  terribly  fast. 
When  she  looked  for  them,  one  was  not  to  be 
found,  and  a  boy  seized  the  other  and  ran  away 
with  it, 'saying  he  would  use  it  for  a  cradle  some 
day,  when  he  had  children  of  his  own. 

So  on  the  little  girl  went  with  her  bare  feet, 
that  were  red  and  blue  with  cold.  In  an  old 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

apron  that  she  wore  were  bundles  of  matches,  and 
she  carried  a  bundle  also  in  her  hand.  No  one 
had  bought  so  much  as  a  bunch  all  the  long  day, 
and  no  one  had  given  her  even  a  penny. 

Poor  little  girl !  Shivering  with  cold  and  hun- 
ger she  crept  along,  a  perfect  picture  of  misery. 

The  snowflakes  fell  on  her  long  flaxen  hair, 
which  hung  in  pretty  curls  about  her  throat ;  but 
she  thought  not  of  her  beauty  nor  of  the  cold. 
Lights  gleamed  in  every  window,  and  there  came 
to  her  the  savory  smell  of  roast  goose,  for  it  was 
New  Year's  Eve.  And  it  was  this  of  which  she 
thought. 

In  a  corner  formed  by  two  houses,  one  of  which 
projected  beyond  the  other,  she  sat  cowering 
down.  She  had  drawn  under  her  her  little  feet,  but 
still  she  grew  colder  and  colder;  yet  she  dared 
not  go  home,  for  she  had  sold  no  matches  and 
could  not  bring  a  penny  of  money.  Her  father 
would  certainly  beat  her ;  and,  besides,  it  was  cold 
enough  at  home,  for  they  had  only  the  house-roof 
above  them,  and  though  the  largest  holes  had 
been  stopped  with  straw  and  rags,  there  were  left 
many  through  which  the  cold  wind  could  whistle. 

[118] 


here  the   light  fell  upon  the 

it  became 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

And  now  her  little  hands  were  nearly  frozen 
with  cold.  Alas !  a  single  match  might  do  her 
good  if  she  might  only  draw  it  from  the  bundle, 
rub  it  against  the  wall,  and  warm  her  fingers  by 
it.  So  at  last  she  drew  one  out.  Whisht !  How 
it  blazed  and  burned !  It  gave  out  a  warm,  bright 
flame  like  a  little  candle,  as  she  held  her  hands 
over  it.  A  wonderful  little  light  it  was.  It  really 
seemed  to  the  little  girl  as  if  she  sat  before  a 
great  iron  stove  with  polished  brass  feet  and 
brass  shovel  and  tongs.  So  blessedly  it  burned 
that  the  little  maiden  stretched  out  her  feet  to 
warm  them  also.  How  comfortable  she  was !  But 
lo !  the  flame  went  out,  the  stove  vanished,  and 
nothing  remained  but  the  little  burned  match  in 
her  hand. 

She  rubbed  another  match  against  the  wall.  It 
burned  brightly,  and  where  the  light  fell  upon  the 
wall  it  became  transparent  like  a  veil,  so  that  she 
could  see  through  it  into  the  room.  A  snow- 
white  cloth  was  spread  upon  the  table,  on  which 
was  a  beautiful  china  dinner-service,  while  a  roast 
goose,  stuffed  with  apples  and  prunes,  steamed 
famously  and  sent  forth  a  most  savory  smell. 


THE    LITTLE    MATCH    GIRL 

And  what  was  more  delightful  still,  and  wonder- 
ful, the  goose  jumped  from  the  dish,  with  knife 
and  fork  still  in  its  breast,  and  waddled  along  the 
floor  straight  to  the  little  girl. 

But  the  match  went  out  then,  and  nothing  was 
left  to  her  but  the  thick,  damp  wall. 

She  lighted  another  match.  And  now  she  was 
under  a  most  beautiful  Christmas  tree,  larger  and 
far  more  prettily  trimmed  than  the  one  she  had 
seen  through  the  glass  doors  at  the  rich  mer- 
chant's. Hundreds  of  wax  tapers  were  burning 
on  the  green  branches,  and  gay  figures,  such  as 
she  had  seen  in  shop  windows,  looked  down  upon 
her.  The  child  stretched  out  her  hands  to  them ; 
then  the  match  went  out. 

Still  the  lights  of  the  Christmas  tree  rose 
higher  and  higher.  She  saw  them  now  as  stars 
in  heaven,  and  one  of  them  fell,  forming  a  long 
trail  of  fire. 

"  Now  some  one  is  dying,"  murmured  the  child 
softly ;  for  her  grandmother,  the  only  person  who 
had  loved  her,  and  who  was  now  dead,  had  told 
her  that  whenever  a  star  falls  a  soul  mounts  up 
to  God. 

[121] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

She  struck  yet  another  match  against  the  wall, 
and  again  it  was  light;  and  in  the  brightness 
there  appeared  before  her  the  dear  old  grand- 
mother, bright  and  radiant,  yet  sweet  and  mild, 
and  happy  as  she  had  never  looked  on  earth. 

"  Oh,  grandmother,"  cried  the  child,  "  take  me 
with  you.  I  know  you  will  go  away  when  the 
match  burns  out.  You,  too,  will  vanish,  like  the 
warm  stove,  the  splendid  New  Year's  feast, 
the  beautiful  Christmas  tree."  And  lest  her 
grandmother  should  disappear,  she  rubbed  the 
whole  bundle  of  matches  against  the  wall. 

And  the  matches  burned  with  such  a  brilliant 
light  that  it  became  brighter  than  noonday.  Her 
grandmother  had  never  looked  so  grand  and  beau- 
tiful. She  took  the  little  girl  in  her  arms,  and 
both  flew  together,  joyously  and  gloriously,  mount- 
ing higher  and  higher,  far  above  the  earth;  and 
for  them  there  was  neither  hunger,  nor  cold,  nor 
care  —  they  were  with  God. 

But  in  the  corner,  at  the  dawn  of  day,  sat 
the  poor  girl,  leaning  against  the  wall,  with  red 
cheeks  and  smiling  mouth  —  frozen  to  death  on 
the  last  evening  of  the  old  year.  Stiff  and  cold 

[122].* 


THE    LITTLE    MATCH    GIRL 

she  sat,  with  the  matches,  one  bundle  of  which 
was  burned. 

"  She  wanted  to  warm  herself,  poor  little  thing,  " 
people  said.  No  one  imagined  what  sweet  visions 
she  had  had,  or  how  gloriously  she  had  gone 
with  her  grandmother  to  enter  upon  the  joys  of 
a  new  year. 


THE  LOVING  PAIR 

WHIPPING  Top  and  a  Ball  lay  close 
together  in  a  drawer  among  other  play- 
things. One  day  the  Top  said  to  the 
Ball,  "  Since  we  are  living  so  much  together,  why 
should  we  not  be  lovers  ?  " 

But  the  Ball,  being  made  of  morocco  leather, 
thought  herself  a  very  high-bred  lady,  and  would 
hear  nothing  of  such  a  proposal.  On  the  next 
day  the  little  boy  to  whom  the  playthings  be- 
longed came  to  the  drawer;  he  painted  the  Top 
red  and  yellow,  and  drove  a  bright  brass  nail  right 
through  the  head  of  it ;  it  looked  very  smart  in- 
deed as  it  spun  around  after  that. 

"  Look  at  me,"  said  he  to  the  Ball.  "  What  do 
you  say  to  me  now;  why  should  we  not  make  a 
match  of  it,  and  become  man  and  wife  ?  WTe  suit 

[124] 


THE   LOVING    PAIR 

each  other  so  well !  —  you  can  jump  and  I  can 
dance.  There  would  not  be  a  happier  pair  in  the 
whole  world !  " 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  "  said  the  Ball.  "  Perhaps 
you  do  not  know  that  my  father  and  mother  were 
morocco  slippers,  and  that  I  have  a  Spanish  cork 
in  my  body  !  " 

*  Yes,  but  then  I  am  made  of  mahogany,"  said 
the  Top ;  "  the  Mayor  himself  turned  me.  He 
has  a  turning  lathe  of  his  own,  and  he  took  great 
pleasure  in  making  me." 

"  Can  I  trust  you  in  this  ?  "  asked  the  Ball. 

"  May  I  never  be  whipped  again,  if  what  I  tell 
you  is  not  true,"  returned  the  Top. 

"  You  plead  your  cause  well,"  said  the  Ball ; 
"  but  I  am  not  free  to  listen  to  your  proposal.  I 
am  as  good  as  engaged  to  a  swallow.  As  often  as 
I  fly  up  into  the  air,  he  puts  his  head  out  of  his 
nest,  and  says,  'Will  you?'  In  my  heart  I  have 
said  Yes  to  him,  and  that  is  almost  the  same  as 
an  engagement ;  but  I  '11  promise  never  to  forget 
you." 

"  A  deal  of  good  that  will  do  me,"  said  the  Top, 
and  they  left  off  speaking  to  each  other. 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

Next  day  the  Ball  was  taken  out.  The  Top 
saw  it  fly  like  a  bird  into  the  air  —  so  high  that  it 
passed  quite  out  of  sight.  It  came  back  again  ;  but 
each  time  that  it  touched  the  earth,  it  sprang  higher 
than  before.  This  must  have  been  either  from  its 
longing  to  mount  higher,  like  the  swallow,  or  be- 
cause it  had  the  Spanish  cork  in  its  body.  On  the 
ninth  time  the  little  Ball  did  not  return.  The  boy 
sought  and  sought,  but  all  in  vain,  for  it  was  gone. 

"  I  know  very  well  where  she  is,"  sighed  the 
Top.  "  She  is  in  the  swallow's  nest,  celebrating 
her  wedding." 

The  more  the  Top  thought  of  this  the.  more 
lovely  the  Ball  became  to  him ;  that  she  could  not 
be  his  bride  seemed  to  make  his  love  for  her  the 
greater.  She  had  preferred  another  rather  than 
himself,  but  he  could  not  forget  her.  He  twirled 
round  and  round,  spinning  and  humming,  but 
always  thinking  of  the  Ball,  who  grew  more  and 
more  beautiful  the  more  he  thought  of  her.  And 
thus  several  years  passed,  —  it  came  to  be  an  old 
love,  —  and  now  the  Top  was  no  longer  young ! 

One  day  he  was  gilded  all  over;  never  in  his 
life  had  he  been  half  so  handsome.  He  was  now 

[126] 


THE    LOVING    PAIR 

a  golden  top,  and  bravely  he  spun,  humming  all 
the  time.  But  once  he  sprang  too  high  —  and 
was  gone ! 

They  looked  everywhere  for  him,  —  even  in  the 
cellar,  —  but  he  .was  nowhere  to  be  found.  Where 
was  he? 

He  had  jumped  into  the  dustbin,  and  lay  among 
cabbage  stalks,  sweepings,  dust,  and  all  sorts  of 
rubbish  that  had  fallen  from  the  gutter  in  the 
roof. 

"Alas  !  my  gay  gilding  will  soon  be  spoiled 
here.  What  sort  of  trumpery  can  I  have  got 
among."  And  then  he  peeped  at  a  long  cabbage 
stalk  which  lay  much  too  near  him,  and  at  some- 
thing strange  and  round,  which  appeared  like  an 
apple,  but  was  not.  It  was  an  old  Ball  that  must 
have  lain  for  years  in  the  gutter,  and  been  soaked 
through  and  through  with  water. 

'  Thank  goodness  !  at  last  I  see  an  equal ;  one 
of  my  own  sort,  with  whom  I  can  talk,"  said  the 
Ball,  looking  earnestly  at  the  gilded  Top.  "  I  am 
myself  made  of  real  morocco,  sewed  together  by 
a  young  lady's  hands,  and  within  my  body  is  a 
Spanish  cork ;  though  no  one  would  think  it  now. 

[127] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

I  was  very  near  marrying  the  swallow,  when  by 
a  sad  chance  I  fell  into  the  gutter  on  the  roof.  I 
have  lain  there  five  years,  and  I  am  now  wet 
through  and  through.  You  may  think  what  a 
wearisome  situation  it  has  been  for  a  young  lady 
like  me." 

The  Top  made  no  reply.  The  more  he  thought 
of  his  old  love,  and  the  more  he  heard,  the  more 
sure  he  became  that  this  was  indeed  she. 

Then  came  the  housemaid  to  empty  the  dust- 
bin. "  Hullo  !  "  she  cried  ;  "  why,  here  's  the  gilt 
Top."  And  so  the  Top  was  brought  again  to  the 
playroom,  to  be  used  and  honored  as  before,  while 
nothing  was  again  heard  of  the  Ball. 

And  the  Top  never  spoke  again  of  his  old  love 
—  the  feeling  must  have  passed  away.  And  it  is 
not  strange,  when  the  object  of  it  has  lain  five 
years  in  a  gutter,  and  been  drenched  through 
and  through,  and  when  one  meets  her  again  in 
a  dustbin. 


128] 


THE   LEAPING  MATCH 

\    II    ^HE  Flea,  the  Grasshopper,  and  the  Frog 

once  wanted  to  see  which  of  them  could 

JLL    jump  the  highest.    They  made  a  festival, 

and  invited  the  whole  world  and  every  one  else 

besides  who  liked  to  come  and  see  the  grand  sight. 

Three  famous  jumpers  they  were,  as  all  should 

say,  when  they  met  together  in  the  room. 

"  I  will  give  my  daughter  to  him  who  shall 
jump  highest,"  said  the  King ;  "  it  would  be 
too  bad  for  you  to  have  the  jumping,  and  for  us 
to  offer  no  prize." 

The  Flea  was  the  first  to  come  forward.  He  had 
most  exquisite  manners,  and  bowed  to  the  com- 
pany on  every  side ;  for  he  was  of  noble  blood,  and, 
besides,  was  accustomed  to  the  society  of  man, 
and  that,  of  course,  had  been  an  advantage  to  him. 

[129] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

Next  came  the  Grasshopper.  He  was  not  quite 
so  elegantly  formed  as  the  Flea,  but  he  knew 
perfectly  well  how  to  conduct  himself,  and  he 
wore  the  green  uniform  which  belonged  to  him  by 
right  of  birth.  He  said,  moreover,  that  he  came 
of  a  very  ancient  Egyptian  family,  and  that  in  the 
house  where  he  then  lived  he  was  much  thought  of. 

The  fact  was  that  he  had  been  just  brought 
out  of  the  fields  and  put  in  a  card-house  three 
stories  high,  and  built  on  purpose  for  him,  with 
the  colored  sides  inwards,  and  doors  and  windows 
cut  out  of  the  Queen  of  Hearts.  "  And  I  sing  so 
well,"  said  he,  "  that  sixteen  parlor-bred  crickets, 
who  have  chirped  from  infancy  and  yet  got  no 
one  to  build  them  card-houses  to  live  in,  have 
fretted  themselves  thinner  even  than  before,  from 
sheer  vexation  on  hearing  me." 

It  was  thus  that  the  Flea  and  the  Grasshopper 
made  the  most  of  themselves,  each  thinking  him- 
self quite  an  equal  match  for  the  princess. 

The  Leapfrog  said  not  a  word;  but  people 
said  that  perhaps  he  thought  the  more ;  and  the 
housedog  who  snuffed  at  him  with  his  nose 
allowed  that  he  was  of  good  family.  The  old 


H 


e  m^ae  *3&aevn*y&  jump 
into  tke  Is^p  of  tke 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

councilor,  who  had  had  three  orders  given  him  in 
vain  for  keeping  quiet,  asserted  that  the  Leap- 
frog was  a  prophet,  for  that  one  could  see  on  his 
back  whether  the  coming  winter  was  to  be  severe 
or  mild,  which  is  more  than  one  can  see  on  the 
back  of  the  man  who  writes  the  almanac. 

"  I  say  nothing  for  the  present,"  exclaimed  the 
King ;  "  yet  I  have  my  own  opinion,  for  I  observe 
everything." 

And  now  the  match  began.  The  Flea  jumped 
so  high  that  no  one  could  see  what  had  become 
of  him ;  and  so  they  insisted  that  he  had  not 
jumped  at  all — which  was  disgraceful  after  all 
the  fuss  he  had  made. 

The  Grasshopper  jumped  only  half  as  high ; 
but  he  leaped  into  the  King's  face,  who  was  dis- 
gusted by  his  rudeness. 

The  Leapfrog  stood  for  a  long  time,  as  if  lost 
in  thought ;  people  began  to  think  he  would  not 
jump  at  all. 

"  I  'm  afraid  he  is  ill !  "  said  the  dog  and  he 
went  to  snuff  at  him  again ;  when  lo !  he  suddenly 
made  a  sideways  jump  into  the  lap  of  the  princess, 
who  sat  close  by  on  a  little  golden  stool. 


THE    LEAPING    MATCH 

*  There  is  nothing  higher  than  my  daughter," 
said  the  King ;  "  therefore  to  bound  into  her  lap 
is  the  highest  jump  that  can  be  made.  Only  one 
of  good  understanding  would  ever  have  thought 
of  that.  Thus  the  Frog  has  shown  that  he  has 
sense.  He  has  brains  in  his  head,  that  he  has." 

And  so  he  won  the  princess. 

"  I  jumped  the  highest,  for  all  that,"  said  the 
Flea ;  "  but  it 's  all  the  same  to  me.  The  princess 
may  have  the  stiff-legged,  slimy  creature,  if  she 
likes.  In  this  world  merit  seldom  meets  its  re- 
ward. Dullness  and  heaviness  win  the  day.  I  am 
too  light  and  airy  for  a  stupid  world." 

And  so  the  Flea  went  into  foreign  service. 

The  Grasshopper  sat  without  on  a  green  bank 
and  reflected  on  the  world  and  its  ways ;  and  he 
too  said,  "  Yes,  dullness  and  heaviness  win  the 
day ;  a  fine  exterior  is  what  people  care  for  nowa- 
days." And  then  he  began  to  sing  in  his  own 
peculiar  way  —  and  it  is  from  his  song  that  we 
have  taken  this  little  piece  of  history,  which  may 
very  possibly  be  all  untrue,  although  it  does  stand 
printed  here  in  black  and  white. 

[133] 


THE   HAPPY  FAMILY 

THE  largest  green  leaf  in  this  country  is 
certainly  the  burdock.    Put  one  in  front  of 
your  waist,  and  it  is  just  like  an  apron ;  or 
lay  it  upon  your  head,  and  it  is  almost  as  good 
as  an  umbrella,  it  is  so  broad. 

Burdock  never  grows  singly;  where  you  find 
one  plant  of  the  kind  you  may  be  sure  that  others 
grow  in  its  immediate  neighborhood.  How  mag- 
nificent they  look ! 

And  all  this  magnificence  is  food  for  snails  — 
the  great  white  snails,  which  grand  people  in  olden 
times  used  to  have* dished  up  as  fricassees,  and 
of  which,  when  they  had  eaten,  they  would  say, 
"  H'm,  how  nice ! "  for  they  really  fancied  them 
delicious.  These  snails  lived  on  burdock  leaves, 
and  that  was  why  burdock  was  planted. 

[134] 


THE    HAPPY    FAMILY 

Now  there  was  an  old  estate  where*  snails  were 
no  longer  considered  a  delicacy.  The  snails  had 
therefore  died  out,  but  the  burdock  still  flourished. 
In  all  the  alleys  and  in  all  the  beds  it  had  grown 
and  grown,  so  that  it  could  no  longer  be  checked ; 
the  place  had  become  a  perfect  forest  of  burdock. 

Here  and  there  stood  an  apple  or  plum  tree  to 
serve  as  a  kind  of  token  that  there  had  been  once 
a  garden,  but  everything,  from  one  end  of  the  gar- 
den to  the  other,  was  burdock,  and  beneath  the 
shade  of  the  burdock  lived  the  last  two  of  the 
ancient  snails. 

They  did  not  know  themselves  how  old  they 
were,  but  they  well  remembered  the  time  when 
there  were  a  great  many  of  them,  that  they  had 
descended  from  a  family  that  came  from  foreign 
lands,  and  that  this  forest  in  which  they  lived  had 
been  planted  for  them  and  theirs.  They  had  never 
been  beyond  the  limits  of  the  garden,  but  they 
knew  that  there  was  something  outside  their  for- 
est, called  the  castle,  and  that  there  one  was 
boiled,  and  became  black,  and  was  then  laid  upon 
a  silver  dish  —  though  what  happened  afterward 
they  had  never  heard,  nor  could  they  exactly 

[135] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

fancy  how  it  felt  to  be  cooked  and  laid  on  a  silver 
dish.  It  was,  no  doubt,  a  fine  thing,  and  exceed- 
ingly genteel. 

Neither  the  cockchafer,  nor  the  toad,  nor  the 
earthworm,  all  of  whom  they  questioned  on  the 
matter,  could  give  them  the  least  information,  for 
none  of  them  had  ever  been  cooked  and  served 
upon  silver  dishes. 

The  old  white  snails  were  the  grandest  race  in 
the  world ;  of  this  they  were  well  aware.  The 
forest  had  grown  for  their  sake,  and  the  castle  or 
manor  house  too  had  been  built  expressly  that 
in  it  they  might  be  cooked  and  served. 

Leading  now  a  very  quiet  and  happy  life  and 
having  no  children,  they  had  adopted  a  little  com- 
mon snail,  and  had  brought  it  up  as  their  own 
child.  But  the  little  thing  would  not  grow,  for  he 
was  only  a  common  snail,  though  his  foster  mother 
pretended  to  see  a  great  improvement  in  him. 
She  begged  the  father,  since  he  could  not  perceive 
it,  to  feel  the  little  snail's  shell,  and  to  her  great 
joy  and  his  own,  he  found  that  his  wife  was  right. 

One  day  it  rained  very  hard.  "  Listen ! "  said 
the  Father  Snail ;  "  hear  what  a  drumming  there 

[136] 


THE    HAPPY    FAMILY 

.» 
is  on  the  burdock  leaves  —  rum-dum-dum,  rum- 

dum-dum ! " 

*  There  are  drops,  too,"  said  the  Mother  Snail ; 
"  they  come  trickling  down  the  stalks.  We  shall 
presently  find  it  very  wet  here.  I  'm  glad  we  have 
such  good  houses,  and  that  the  youngster  has  his 
also.  There  has  really  been  more  done  for  us  than 
for  any  other  creatures.  Every  one  must  see  that 
we  are  superior  beings.  We  have  houses  from  our 
very  birth,  and  the  burdock  forest  is  planted  on 
our  account.  I  should  like  to  know  just  how  far 
it  reaches,  and  what  there  is  beyond." 

"  There  is  nothing  better  than  what  we  have  here," 
said  the  Father  Snail.  "  I  wish  for  nothing  beyond." 

"And  yet,"  said  the  mother,  "  I  should  like  to 
be  taken  to  the  castle,  and  boiled,  and  laid  on  a 
silver  dish ;  that  has  been  the  destiny  of  all  our 
ancestors,  and  we  may  be  sure  it  is  something 
quite  out  of  the  common  way." 

'  The  castle  has  perhaps  fallen  to  ruin,"  said 
the  Father  Snail,  "  or  it  may  be  overgrown  with 
burdock,  so  that  its  inmates  are  unable  to  come 
out.  There  is  no  hurry  about  the  matter.  You 
are  always  in  such  a  desperate  hurry,  and  the 

[137] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

youngster  there  begins  to  take  after  you.  He  's 
been  creeping  up  that  stem  yonder  these  three 
days.  It  makes  me  quite  dizzy  to  look  at  him." 

"  But  don't  scold  him,"  said  the  mother.  "He 
creeps  carefully.  We  old  people  have  nothing  else 
to  live  for,  and  he  will  be  the  joy  of  our  old  age. 
Have  you  thought  how  we  can  manage  to  find  a 
wife  for  him  ?  Do  you  not  think  that  farther  into 
the  forest  there  may  be  others  of  our  own  species?" 

"  I  dare  say  there  may  be  black  snails,"  said  the 
old  father,  "  black  snails,  without  a  house  at  all ; 
and  they  are  vulgar,  though  they  think  so  much 
of  themselves,  But  we  can  employ  the  black  ants, 
who  run  about  so  much  —  hurrying  to  and  fro  as 
if  they  had  all  the  business  of  the  world  on  their 
hands.  They  will  certainly  be  able  to  find  a  wrife 
for  our  young  gentleman." 

"  I  know  the  fairest  of  the  fair,"  said  one  of  the 
ants ;  "  but  I  'm  afraid  it  would  not  do,  for  she  's 
a  queen." 

"  She  's  none  the  worse  for  that,"  said  both  the 
old  snails.  "  Has  she  a  house  ?  " 

"  She  has  a  palace,"  answered  the  ants;  "  the  most 
splendid  ant  castle,  with  seven  hundred  galleries." 


THE    HAPPY    FAMILY 

"  Thank  you  !  "  said  the  Mother  Snail.  "  Our 
boy  shall  not  go  to  live  in  an  ant  hill.  If  you 
know  of  nothing  better,  we  will  employ  the  white 
gnats,  who  fly  both  in  rain  and  sunshine  and  know 
all  the  ins  and  outs  of  the  whole  burdock  forest." 

"  We  have  found  a  wife  for  him,"  said  the 
gnats.  "A  hundred  paces  from  here  there  sits, 
on  a  gooseberry  bush,  a  little  snail  with  a  house. 
She  is  all  alone  and  is  old  enough  to  marry.  It 
is  only  a  hundred  human  steps  from  here." 

"  Then  let  her  come  to  him,"  said  the  old  couple. 
"He  has  a  whole  forest  of  burdock,  while  she 
has  only  a  bush." 

So  they  went  and  brought  the  little  maiden 
snail.  It  took  eight  days  to  perform  the  journey, 
but  that  only  showed  her  high  breeding,  and  that 
she  was  of  good  family. 

And  then  the  wedding  took  place.  Six  glow- 
worms gave  all  the  light  they  could,  but  in  all 
other  respects  it  was  a  very  quiet  affair.  The  old 
people  could  not  bear  the,  fatigue  of  frolic  or  fes- 
tivity. The  Mother  Snail  made  a  very  touching 
little  speech.  The  father  was  too  much  overcome 
to  trust  himself  to  say  anything. 

[i39] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

They  gave  the  young  couple  the  entire  burdock 
forest,  saying  what  they  had  always  said,  namely, 
that  it  was  the  finest  inheritance  in  the  world, 
and  that  if  they  led  an  upright  and  honorable  life, 
and  if  their  family  should  increase,  without  doubt 
both  themselves  and  their  children  would  one  day 
be  taken  to  the  manor  castle  and  be  boiled  black 
and  served  as  a  fricassee  in  a  silver  dish. 

And  after  this  the  old  couple  crept  into  their 
houses  and  never  came  out  again,  but  fell  asleep. 
The  young  pair  now  ruled  in  the  forest  and  had 
a  numerous  family.  But  when,  as  time  went  on, 
none  of  them  were  ever  cooked  or  served  on  a 
silver  dish,  they  concluded  that  the  castle  had 
fallen  to  ruin  and  that  the  world  of  human  beings 
had  died  out  ;  and  as  no  one  contradicted  them, 
they  must  have  been  right. 

And  the  rain  continued  to  fall  upon  the  bur- 
dock leaves  solely  to  entertain  them  with  its 
drumming,  and  the  sun  shone  to  light  the  forest 
for  their  especial  benefit,  and  very  happy  they 
were  —  they  and  the  whole  snail  family  —  inex- 
pressibly happy  ! 


[ 


THE  GREENIES 

ROSE  TREE  stood  in  the  window.  But 
a  little  while  ago  it  had  been  green  and 
fresh,  and  now  it  looked  sickly  —  it  was 
in  poor  health,  no  doubt.  A  whole  regiment  was 
quartered  on  it  and  was  eating  it  up ;  yet,  not- 
withstanding this  seeming  greediness,  the  regi- 
ment was  a  very  decent  and  respectable  one.  It 
wore  bright-green  uniforms.  I  spoke  to  one  of 
the  "  Greenies."  He  was  but  three  days  old,  and 
yet  he  was  already  a  grandfather.  What  do  you 
think  he  said?  It  is  all  true  —  he  spoke  of  him- 
self and  of  the  rest  of  the  regiment.  Listen ! 

"  We  are  the  most  wonderful  creatures  in  the 
world.  At  a  very  early  age  we  are  engaged,  and 
immediately  we  have  the  wedding.  When  the 
cold  weather  comes  we  lay  our  eggs,  but  the  little 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

ones  lie  sunny  and  warm.  The  wisest  of  the 
creatures,  the  ant,  —  we  have  the  greatest  respect 
for  him !  —  understands  us  well.  He  appreciates  us, 
you  may  be  sure.  He  does  not  eat  us  up  at  once ; 
he  takes  our  eggs,  lays  them  in  the  family  ant  hill 
on  the  ground  floor  —  lays  them,  labeled  and 
numbered,  side  by  side,  layer  on  layer,  so  that 
each  day  a  new  one  may  creep  out  of  the  egg. 
Then  he  puts  us  in  a  stable,  pinches  our  hind 
legs,  and  milks  us  till  we  die.  He  has  given  us 
the  prettiest  of  names  —  *  little  milch  cow.' 

"All  creatures  who,- like  the  ant,  are  gifted  with 
common  sense  call  us  by  this  pretty  name.  It  is 
only  human  beings  who  do  not.  They  give  us 
another  name,  one  that  we  feel  to  be  a  great 
affront  —  great  enough  to  embitter  our  whole  life. 
Could  you  not  write  a  protest  against  it  for  us  ? 
Could  you  not  rouse  these  human  beings  to  a 
sense  of  the  wrong  they  do  us  ?  They  look  at  us 
so  stupidly  or,  at  times,  with  such  envious  eyes, 
just  because  we  eat  a  rose  leaf,  while  they  them- 
selves eat  every  created  thing  —  whatever  grows 
and  is  green.  And  oh,  they  give  us  the  most 
humiliating  of  names !  I  will  not  even  mention  it. 

[142] 


THE  -GREENIES 

Ughl  I  feel  it  to  my  very  stomach.  I  cannot 
even  pronounce  it  —  at  least  not  when  I  have  my 
uniform  on,  and  that  I  always  wear. 

"  I  was  born  on  a  rose  leaf.  I  and  all  the  regi- 
ment live  on  the  rose  tree.  We  live  off  it,  in  fact. 
But  then  it  lives  again  in  us,  who  belong  to  the 
higher  order  of  created  beings. 

'  The  human  beings  do  not  like  us.  They  pur- 
sue and  murder  us  with  soapsuds.  Oh,  it  is  a 
horrid  drink !  I  seem  to  smell  it  even  now.  You 
cannot  think  how  dreadful  it  is  to  be  washed 
when  one  was  not  made  to  be  washed.  Men !  you 
who  look  at  us  with  your  severe,  soapsud  eyes, 
think  a  moment  what  our  place  in  nature  is:  we 
are  born  upon  the  roses,  we  die  in  roses  —  our 
whole  life  is  a  rose  poem.  Do  not,  I  beg  you,  give 
us  a  name  which  you  yourselves  think  so  despi- 
cable—  the  name  I  cannot  bear  to  pronounce. 
If  you  wish  to  speak  of  us,  call  us  '  the  ants' 
milch  cows  —  the  rose-tree  regiment  —  the  little 
green  things.' " 

"And  I,  the  man,  stood  looking  at  the  tree 
and  at  the  little  Greenies  (whose  name  I  shall 
not  mention,  for  I  should  not  like  to  wound  the 

[143] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

feelings  of  the  citizens  of  the  rose  tree),  a  large 
family  with  eggs  and  young  ones ;  and  I  looked 
at  the  soapsuds  I  was  going  to  wash  them  in, 
for  I  too  had  come  with  soap  and  water  and 
murderous  intentions.  But  now  I  will  use  it  for 
soap  bubbles.  Look,  how  beautiful !  Perhaps  there 
lies  in  each  a  fairy  tale,  and  the  bubble  grows 
large  and  radiant  and  looks  as  if  there  were  a 
pearl  lying  inside  it. 

The  bubble  swayed  and  swung.  It  flew  to  the 
door  and  then  burst,  but  the  door  opened  wide, 
and  there  stood  Dame  Fairytale  herself!  And 
now  she  will  tell  you  better  than  I  can  about 
(I  will  not  say  the  name)  the  little  green  things 
of  the  rosebush. 

"  Plant  lice !  "  said  Dame  Fairytale.  One  must 
call  things  by  their  right  names.  And  if  one  may 
not  do  so  always,  one  must  at  least  have  the 
privilege  of  doing  so  in  a  fairy  tale. 


[J44] 


OLE-LUK-OIE  THE   DREAM   GOD 

THERE  is  nobody  in  the  whole  world  who 
knows  so  many  stones  as  Ole-Luk-Oie,  or 
who  can  relate  them  so  nicely. 
In  the  evening  while  the  children  are  seated  at 
the  tea  table  or  in  their  little  chairs,  very  softly  he 
comes  up  the  stairs,  for  he  walks  in  his  socks. 
He  opens  the  doors  without  the  slightest  noise 
and  throws  a  small  quantity  of  very  fine  dust  in 
the  little  ones'  eyes  (just  enough  to  prevent  them 
from  keeping  them  open),  and  so  they  do  not  see 
him.    Then  he   creeps  behind    them  and  blows 
softly  upon  their  necks  till  their  heads  begin  to 
droop. 

But  Ole-Luk-Oie  does  not  wish  to  hurt  them. 
He  is  very  fond  of  children  and  only  wants  them 
to  be  quiet  that  he  may  tell  them  pretty  stories, 

[US] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

and  he  knows  they  never  are  quiet  until  they  are 
in  bed  and  asleep.  Ole-Luk-Oie  seats  himself 
upon  the  bed  as  soon  as  they  are  asleep.  He  is 
nicely  dressed ;  his  coat  is  made  of  silken  stuff,  it 
is  impossible  to  say  of  what  color,  for  it  changes 
from  green  to  red  and  from  red  to  blue  as  he 
turns  from  side  to  side.  Under  each  arm  he  car- 
ries an  umbrella.  One  of  them,  with  pictures  on 
the  inside,  he  spreads  over  good  children,  and  then 
they  dream  the  most  charming  stories.  But  the 
other  umbrella  has  no  pictures,  and  this  he  holds 
over  the  naughty  children,  so  that  they  sleep 
heavily  and  wake  in  the  morning  without  having 
dreamed  at  all. 

Now  we  shall  hear  how  Ole-Luk-Oie  came 
every  night  during  a  whole  week  to  a  little  boy 
named  Hjalmar,  and  what  it  was  that  he  told  him. 
There  were  seven  stories,  as  there  are  seven  days 

in  the  week. 

• 

MONDAY 

"  Now  pay  attention,"  said  Ole-Luk-Oie  in  the 
evening,  when  Hjalmar  was  in  bed,  "  and  I  will 
decorate  the  room." 

[146] 


OLE-LUK-OIE,    THE    DREAM    GOD 

Immediately  all  the  flowers  in  the  flowerpots 
became  large  trees  with  long  branches  reaching 
to  the  ceiling  and  stretching  along  the  walls, 
so  that  the  whole  room  was  like  a  greenhouse. 
All  the  branches  were  loaded  with  flowers,  each 
flower  as  beautiful  and  as  fragrant  as  a  rose,  and 
had  any  one  tasted  them  he  would  have  found 
them  sweeter  even  than  jam.  The  fruit  glittered 
like  gold,  and  there  were  cakes  so  full  of  plums 
that  they  were  nearly  bursting.  It  was  incompar- 
ably beautiful. 

At  the  same  time  sounded  dismal  moans  from 
the  table  drawer  in  which  lay  Hjalmar's  school- 
books. 

"What  can  that  be  now?"  said  Ole-Luk-Oie, 
going  to  the  table  and  pulling  out  the  drawer. 

It  was  a  slate,  in  such  distress  because  of  a 
wrong  figure  in  a  sum  that  it  had  almost  broken 
itself  to  pieces.  The.  pencil  pulled  and  tugged  at 
its  string  as  if  it  were  a  little  dog  that  wanted 
to  help  but  could  not. 

And  then  came  a  moan  from  Hjalmar's  copy 
book.  Oh,  it  was  quite  terrible  to  hear!  On 
each  leaf  stood  a  row  of  capital  letters,  every 

[147] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

one  having  a  small  letter  by  its  side.  This 
formed  a  copy.  Under  these  were  other  letters, 
which  Hjalmar  had  written ;  they  fancied  they 
looked  like  the  copy,  but  they  were  mistaken, 
for  they  were  leaning  on  one  side  as  if  they 
intended  to  fall  over  the  pencil  lines. 

"  See,  this  is  the  way  you  should  hold  your- 
selves," said  the  copy.  "  Look  here,  you  should 
slope  thus,  with  a  graceful  curve." 

"  Oh,  we  are  very  willing  to  do  so,"  said 
Hjalmar's  letters,  "  but  we  cannot,  we  are  so 
wretchedly  made." 

'  You  must  be  scratched  out,  then,"  said 
Ole-Luk-Oie. 

"  Oh,  no ! "  they  cried,  and  then  they  stood  up 
so  gracefully  that  it  was  quite  a  pleasure  to  look 
at  them. 

"  Now  we  must  give  up  our  stories,  and  exer- 
cise these  letters,"  said  Ole-Luk-Oie.  "  One,  two 
—  one,  two  —  "  So  he  drilled  them  till  they  stood 
up  gracefully  and  looked  as  beautiful  as  a  copy 
could  look.  But  after  Ole-Luk-Oie  was  gone,  and 
Hjalmar  looked  at  them  in  the  morning,  they 
were  as  wretched  and  awkward  as  ever. 

[148] 


OLE-LUK-OIE,    THE   DREAM    GOD 

» 
TUESDAY 

As  soon  as  Hjalmar  was  in  bed  Ole-Luk-Oie 
touched  with  his  little  magic  wand  all  the  fur- 
niture in  the  room,  which  immediately  began  to 
chatter.  And  each  article  talked  only  of  itself. 

Over  the  chest  of  drawers  hung  a  large  pic- 
ture in  a  gilt  frame,  representing  a  landscape, 
with  fine  old  trees,  flowers  in  the  grass,  and 
a  broad  stream  which  flowed  through  the 
wood  past  several  castles  far  out  into  the  wild 
ocean. 

Ole-Luk-Oie  touched  the  picture  with  his  magic 
wand,  and  immediately  the  birds  began  to  sing, 
the  branches  of  the  trees  rustled,  and  the  clouds 
moved  across  the  sky,  casting  their  shadows  on 
the  landscape  beneath  them. 

Then  Ole-Luk-Oie  lifted  little  Hjalmar  up  to 
the  frame  and  placed  his  feet  in  the  picture,  on 
the  high  grass,  and  there  he  stood  with  the  sun 
shining  down  upon  him  through  the  branches  of 
the  trees.  He  ran  to  the  water  and  seated  him- 
self in  a  little  boat  which  lay  there,  and  which 
was  painted  red  and  white. 

['49] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

The  sails  glittered  like  silver,  and  six  swans, 
each  with  a  golden  circlet  round  its  neck  and  a 
bright,  blue  star  on  its  forehead,  drew  the  boat 
past  the  green  wood,  where  the  trees  talked  of 
robbers  and  witches,  and  the  flowers  of  beautiful 
little  elves  and  fairies  whose  histories  the  butter- 
flies had  related  to  them. 

Brilliant  fish  with  scales  like  silver  and  gold 
swam  after  the  boat,  sometimes  making  a  spring 
and  splashing  the  water  round  them ;  while  birds, 
red  and  blue,  small  and  great,  flew  after  him  in 
two  long  lines.  The  gnats  danced  round  them, 
and  the  cockchafers  cried  "  Buzz,  buzz."  They  all 
wanted  to  follow  Hjalmar,  and  all  had  some  story 
to  tell  him.  It  was  a  most  delightful  sail. 

Sometimes  the  forests  were  thick  and  dark,  some- 
times like  a  beautiful  garden  gay  with  sunshine 
and  flowers ;  he  passed  great  palaces  of  glass  and 
of  marble,  and  on  the  balconies  stood  princesses, 
whose  faces  were  those  of  little  girls  whom  Hjal- 
mar knew  well  and  had  often  played  with.  One 
of  the  little  girls  held  out  her  hand,  in  which  was 
a  heart  made  of  sugar,  more  beautiful  than  any 
confectioner  ever  sold.  As  Hjalmar  sailed  by  he 

[ISO] 


the 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

caught  hold  of  one  side  of  the  sugar  heart  and 
held  it  fast,  and  the  princess  held  fast  too,  so  that 
it  broke  in  two  pieces.  Hjalmar  had  one  piece  and 
the  princess  the  other,  but  Hjalmar's  was  the  larger. 

At  each  castle  stood  little  princes  acting  as 
sentinels.  They  presented  arms  and  had  golden 
swords  and  made  it  rain  plums  and  tin  soldiers, 
so  that  they  must  have  been  real  princes. 

Hjalmar  continued  to  sail,  sometimes  through 
woods,  sometimes  as  it  were  through  large  halls, 
and  then  by  large  cities.  At  last  he  came  to  the 
town  where  his  nurse  lived,  who  had  carried  him 
in  her  arms  when  he  was  a  very  little  boy  and 
had  always  been  kind  to  him.  She  nodded  and 
beckoned  to  him  and  then  sang  the  little  verses 
she  had  herself  composed  and  sent  to  him: 

How  many,  many  hours  I  think  on  thee, 

My  own  dear  Hjalmar,  still  my  pride  and  joy ! 

How  have  I  hung  delighted  over  thee, 
Kissing  thy  rosy  cheeks,  my  darling  boy ! 

Thy  first  low  accents  it  was  mine  to  hear, 
To-day  my  farewell  words  to  thee  shall  fly. 

Oh,  may  the  Lord  thy  shield  be  ever  near 
And  fit  thee  for  a  mansion  in  the  sky ! 


OLE-LUK-OIE,    THE    DREAM    GOD 

And  all  the  birds  sang  the  same  tune,  the  flowers 
danced  on  their  stems,  and  the  old  trees  nodded 
as  if  Ole-Luk-Oie  had  been  telling  them  stories, 
as  well. 

WEDNESDAY 

How  the  rain  did  pour  down !  Hjalmar  could 
hear  it  in  his  sleep,  and  when  Ole-Luk-Oie 
opened  the  window  the  water  flowed  quite*  up 
to  the  window  sill.  It  had  the  appearance  of  a 
large  lake  outside,  and  a  beautiful  ship  lay  close 
to  the  house. 

"Wilt  thou  sail  with  me  to-night,  little  Hjal- 
mar?" said  Ole-Luk-Oie.  'Then  we  shall  see 
foreign  countries,  and  thou  shalt  return  here  in 
the  morning." 

All  in  a  moment  there  stood  Hjalmar,  in  his 
best  clothes,  on  the  deck  of  the  noble  ship,  and 
immediately  the  weather  became  fine. 

They  sailed  through  the  streets,  round  by  the 
church,  while  on  every  side  rolled  the  wide, 
great  sea. 

They  sailed  till  the  land  disappeared,  and  then 
they  saw  a  flock  of  storks  who  had  left  their  own 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

country  and  were  traveling  to  warmer  climates. 
The  storks  flew  one  behind  another  and  had 
already  been  a  long,  long  time  on  the  wing. 

One  of  them  seemed  so  tired  that  his  wings 
could  scarcely  carry  him.  He  was  soon  left  very 
far  behind.  At  length  he  sank  lower  and  lower, 
with  outstretched  wings,  flapping  them  in  vain, 
till  his  feet  touched  the  rigging  of  the  ship,  and 
he  Slid  from  the  sails  to  the  deck  and  stood 
before  them.  Then  a  sailor  boy  caught  him  and 
put  him  in  the  henhouse  with  the  fowls,  the 
ducks,  and  the  turkeys,  while  the  poor  stork 
stood  quite  bewildered  among  them. 

"  Just  look  at  that  fellow,"  said  the  chickens. 

Then  the  turkey  cock  puffed  himself  out  as 
large  as  he  could  and  inquired  who  he  was,  and 
the  ducks  waddled  backwards,  crying,  "  Quack, 
quack !  " 

The  stork  told  them  all  about  warm  Africa  — 
of  the  pyramids  and  of  the  ostrich,  which,  like  a 
wild  horse,  runs  across  the  desert.  But  the  ducks 
did  not  understand  what  he  said,  and  quacked 
amongst  themselves,  "  We  are  all  of  the  same 
opinion ;  namely,  that  he  is  stupid." 

[154] 


OLE-LUK-OIE,    THE    DREAM    GOD 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure,  he  is  stupid,"  sajd  the  turkey 
cock,  and  gobbled. 

Then  the  stork  remained  quite  silent  and 
thought  of  his  home  in  Africa. 

'  Those  are  handsome  thin  legs  of  yours,"  said 
the  turkey  cock.  :t  What  do  they  cost  a  yard  ?  " 

"  Quack,  quack,  quack,"  grinned  the  ducks ; 
but  the  stork  pretended  not  to  hear. 

:<  You  may  as  well  laugh,"  said  the  turkey, 
"  for  that  remark  was  rather  witty,  but  perhaps 
it  was  above  you.  Ah,  ah,  is  he  not  clever?  He 
will  be  a  great  amusement  to  us  while  he  remains 
here."  And  then  he  gobbled,  and  the  ducks 
quacked  :  "  Gobble,  gobble  "  ;  "  Quack,  quack  !  " 

What  a  terrible  uproar  they  made  while  they 
were  having  such  fun  among  themselves ! 

Then  Hjalmar  went  to  the  henhouse  and, 
opening  the  door,  called  to  the  stork.  He  hopped 
out  on  the  deck.  He  had  rested  himself  now, 
and  he  looked  happy  and  seemed  as  if  he  nodded 
to  Hjalmar  as  if  to  thank  him.  Then  he  spread 
his  wings  and  flew  away  to  warmer  countries, 
while  the  hens  clucked,  the  ducks  quacked,  and 
the  turkey  cock's  head  turned  quite  scarlet. 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

:<  To-morrow  you  shall  be  made  into  soup,"  said 
Hjalmar  to  the  fowls ;  and  then  he  awoke  and 
found  himself  lying  in  his  little  bed. 

It  was  a  wonderful  journey  which  Ole-Luk-Oie 
had  made  him  take  this  night. 

THURSDAY 

"  What  do  you  think  - 1  have  here  ?  "  said  the 
Dream  Man.  "  Do  not  be  frightened,  and  you 
shall  see  a  little  mouse."  And  then  he  held  out 
his  hand,  in  which  lay  a  lovely  little  creature. 
"It  has  come  to  invite  you  to  a  wedding.  Two 
little  mice  are  going  to  be  married  to-night. 
They  live  under  the  floor  of  your  mother's 
storeroom,  and  that  must  be  a  fine  dwelling 
place." 

"  But  how  can  I  get  through  the  little  mouse- 
hole  in  the  floor  ?  "  asked  the  little  boy. 

"  Leave  me  to  manage  that,"  said  the  Dream 
Man.  "  I  will  soon  make  you  small  enough." 
And  then  he  touched  the  boy  with  his  magic 
wand,  upon  which  he  became  smaller  and  smaller 
until  at  last  he  was  no  longer  than  a  little  finger. 
"  Now  you  can  borrow  the  dress  of  your  tin  soldier. 


OLE-LUK-OIE,    THE    DREAM    GOD 

I  think  it  will  just  fit  you.  It  looks  well  to  wear 
a  uniform  when  you  go  into  company." 

:'  Yes,  certainly,"  said  the  boy,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment he  was  dressed  as  neatly  as  the  neatest  of 
all  tin  soldiers. 

"  Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  seat  yourself  in 
your  mamma's  thimble,"  said  the  little  mouse, 
"  that  I  may  have  the  pleasure  of  drawing  you 
to  the  wedding  ?  " 

"  Will  you  really  take  so  much  trouble,  young 
lady  ?  "  said  he.  And  so  in  this  way  he  rode  to 
the  mouse's  wedding. 

First  they  went  under  the  floor,  and  then 
through  a  long  passage  which  was  scarcely  high 
enough  to  allow  the  thimble  to  drive  under,  and 
the  whole  passage  was  lit  up  with  the  light  of 
rotten  wood. 

"  Does  it  not  smell  delicious?"  asked  the  mouse, 
as  she  drew  him  along.  '  The  wall  and  the  floor 
have  been  smeared  with  bacon  rind ;  nothing  could 
be  nicer." 

Very  soon  they  arrived  at  the  bridal  hall. 
On  the  right  stood  all  the  little  lady  mice,  whis- 
pering and  giggling  as  if  they  were  making 

[157] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

game  of  each  other.  To  the  left  were  the  gen- 
tlemen mice,  stroking  their  whiskers  with  their 
forepaws.  And  in  the  center  of  the  hall  could  be 
seen  the  bridal  pair,  standing  side  by  side  in  a 
hollow  cheese  rind  and  kissing  each  other  while 
all  eyes  were  upon  them. 

More  and  more  friends  kept  coming,  till  the 
mice  were  in  danger  of  treading  each  other  to 
death ;  for  the  bridal  pair  now  stood  in  the  door- 
way, and  none  could  pass  in  or  out. 

The  room  had  been  rubbed  over  with  bacon 
rind  like  the  passage,  which  was  all  the  refresh- 
ment offered  to  the  guests.  But  for  dessert  a 
pea  was  passed  around,  on  which  a  mouse  had 
bitten  the  first  letters  of  the  names  of  the  be- 
trothed pair.  This  was  something  quite  uncom- 
mon. All  the  mice  said  it  was  a  very  beautiful 
wedding,  and  that  they  had  been  very  agreeably 
entertained. 

After  this  Hjalmar  returned  home.  He  had 
certainly  been  in  grand  society,  but  he  had  been 
obliged  to  creep  under  a  room  and  to  make 
himself  small  enough  to  wear  the  uniform  of  a 
tin  soldier. 


OLE-LUK-OIE,    THE    DREAM    GOD 

» 
FRIDAY 

"It  is  incredible  how  many  old  people  there 
are  who  would  be  glad  to  have  me  at  night," 
said  Ole-Luk-Oie,  "  especially  those  who  have 
done  something  wrong. 

'  Good  old  Ole,'  say  they  to  me,  '  we  cannot 
close  our  eyes,  and  we  lie  awake  the  whole  night 
and  see  all  our  evil  deeds  sitting  on  our  beds  like 
little  imps  and  sprinkling  us  with  scalding  water. 
Will  you  come  and  drive  them  away,  that  we  may 
have  a  good  night's  rest  ? '  and  then  they  sigh  so 
deeply  and  say:  'We  would  gladly  pay  you  for 
it.  Good  night,  Ole-Luk,  the  money  lies  in  the 
window.'  But  I  never  do  anything  for  gold." 

"  What  shall  we  do  to-night? "  asked  Hjalmar. 

"  I  do  not  know  whether  you  would  care  to 
go  to  another  wedding,"  replied  Ole-Luk-Oie, 
"  although  it  is  quite  a  different  affair  from  the 
one  we  saw  last  night.  Your  sister's  large  doll, 
that  is  dressed  like  a  man  and  is  called  Her- 
man, intends  to  marry  the  doll  Bertha.  It  is 
also  the  dolls'  birthday,  and  they  will  receive 
many  presents." 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY   TALES 

"Yes,  I  know  that  already,"  said  Hjalmar;  "my 
sister  always  allows  her  dolls  to  keep  their  birth- 
days or  to  have  a  wedding  when  they  require  new 
clothes.  That  has  happened  already  a  hundred 
times,  I  am  quite  sure." 

'  Yes,  so  it  may ;  but  to-night  is  the  hundred- 
and-first  wedding,  and  when  that  has  taken  place 
it  must  be  the  last ;  therefore  this  is  to  be  ex- 
tremely beautiful.  Only  look." 

Hjalmar  looked  at  the  table,  and  there  stood 
the  little  cardboard  dolls'  house,  with  lights  in  all 
the  windows,  and  drawn  up  before  it  were  the  tin 
soldiers,  presenting  arms. 

The  bridal  pair  were  seated  on  the  floor,  leaning 
against  the  leg  of  the  table,  looking  very  thoughtful 
and  with  good  reason.  Then  Ole-Luk-Oie,  dressed 
up  in  grandmother's  black  gown,  married  them. 

As  soon  as  the  ceremony  was  concluded  all  the 
furniture  in  the  room  joined  in  singing  a  beautiful 
song  which  had  been  composed  by  the  lead  pencil, 
and  which  went  to  the  melody  of  a  military  tattoo : 

"  Waft,  gentle  breeze,  our  kind  farewell 
To  the  tiny  house  where  the  bride  folks  dwell. 
With  their  skin  of  kid  leather  fitting  so  well, 
[160] 


OLE-LUK-OIE,    THE    DREAM    GOD 

They  are  straight  and  upright  as  x  tailor's  ell. 
Hurrah  !  hurrah  !  for  beau  and  belle. 
Let  echo  repeat  our  kind  farewell." 

And  now  came  the  presents;  but  the  bridal 
pair  had  nothing  to  eat,  for  love  was  to  be  their 
food. 

"Shall  we  go  to  a  country  house,  or  travel?" 
asked  the  bridegroom. 

They  consulted  the  swallow,  who  had  traveled 
so  far,  and  the  old  hen  in  the  yard,  who  had 
brought  up  five  broods  of  chickens. 

And  the  swallow  talked  to  them  of  warm  coun- 
tries where  the  grapes  hang  in  large  clusters  on 
the  vines  and  the  air  is  soft  and  mild,  and  about 
the  mountains  glowing  with  colors  more  beautiful 
than  we  can  think  of. 

"  But  they  have  no  red  cabbage  such  as  we 
have,"  said  the  hen.  "  I  was  once  in  the  country 
with  my  chickens  for  a  whole  summer.  There 
was  a  large  sand  pit  in  which  we  could  walk 
about  and  scratch  as  we  liked.  Then  we  got 
into  a  garden  in  which  grew  red  cabbage.  Oh, 
how  nice  it  was !  I  cannot  think  of  anything 
more  delicious." 

[161] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"  But  one  cabbage  stalk  is  exactly  like  another," 
said  the  swallow ;  "  and  here  we  often  have  bad 
weather." 

'  Yes,  but  we  are  accustomed  to  it,"  said  the 
hen. 

"  But  it  is  so  cold  here,  and  freezes  sometimes." 

"  Cold  weather  is  good  for  cabbages,"  said  the 
hen ;  "  besides,  we  do  have  it  warm  here  some- 
times. Four  years  ago  we  had  a  summer  that 
lasted  more  than  five  weeks,  and  it  was  so  hot  one 
could  scarcely  breathe.  And  then  in  this  country 
we  have  no  poisonous  animals,  and  we  are  free 
from  robbers.  He  must  be  a  blockhead,  who  does 
not  consider  our  country  the  finest  of  all  lands. 
He  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  live  here."  And 
then  the  hen  wept  very  much  and  said:  "  I  have 
also  traveled.  I  once  went  twelve  miles  in  a  coop, 
and  it  was  not  pleasant  traveling  at  all." 

'  The  hen  is  a  sensible  woman,"  said  the  doll 
Bertha.  "  I  don't  care  for  traveling  over  moun- 
tains, just  to  go  up  and  come  down  again.  No, 
let  us  go  to  the  sand  pit  in  front  of  the  gate 
and  then  take  a  walk  in  the  cabbage  garden." 

And  so  they  settled  it. 

[162] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

SATURDAY 

"Am  I  to  hear  any  more  stories?"  asked  little 
Hjalmar,  as  soon  as  Ole-Luk-Oie  had  sent  him 
to  sleep. 

"  We  shall  have  no  time  this  evening,"  said  he, 
spreading  out  his  prettiest  umbrella  over  the  child. 
"  Look  at  these  Chinese  people."  And  then  the 
whole  umbrella  appeared  like  a  large  china  bowl, 
with  blue  trees  and  pointed  bridges  upon  which 
stood  little  Chinamen  nodding  their  heads. 

"  We  must  make  all  the  world  beautiful  for  to- 
morrow morning,"  said  Ole-Luk-Oie,  "  for  it  will 
be  a  holiday ;  it  is  Sunday.  I  must  now  go  to  the 
church  steeple  and  see  if  the  little  sprites  who  live 
there  have  polished  the  bells  so  that  they  may 
sound  sweetly ;  then  I  must  go  into  the  fields 
and  see  if  the  wind  has  blown  the  dust  from  the 
grass  and  the  leaves  ;  and  the  most  difficult  task 
of  all  which  I.  have  to  do  is  to  take  down  all  the 
stars  and  brighten  them  up.  I  have  to  number 
them  first  before  I  put  them  in  my  apron,  and  also 
to  number  the  places  from  which  I  take  them,  so 
that  they  may  go  back  into  the  right  holes,  or  else 


OLE-LUK-OIE,    THE   DREAM    GOD 

they  would  not  remain  and  we  should  have  a 
number  of  falling  stars,  for  they  would  all  tumble 
down  one  after  another." 

"  Hark  ye,  Mr.  Luk-Oie !  "  said  an  old  portrait 
which  hung  on  the  wall  of  Hjalmar's  bedroom. 
"  Do  you  know  me  ?  I  am  Hjalmar's  great- 
grandfather. I  thank  you  for  telling  the  boy 
stories,  but  you  must  not  confuse  his  ideas.  The 
stars  cannot  be  taken  down  from  the  sky  and 
polished ;  they  are  spheres  like  our  earth,  which 
is  a. good  thing  for  them." 

'  Thank  you,  old  great-grandfather,"  said  Ole- 
Luk-Oie.  "  I  thank  you.  You  may  be  the  head 
of  the  family,  as  no  doubt  you  are,  and  very  old, 
but  I  am  older  still.  I  am  an  ancient  heathen. 
The  old  Romans  and  Greeks  named  me  the 
Dream  God.  I  have  visited  the  noblest  houses,  — 
yes,  and  I  continue  to  do  so,  —  still  I  know  how 
to  conduct  myself  both  to  high  and  low,  and  now 
you  may  tell  the  stories  yourself  "  ;  and  so  Ole- 
Luk-Oie  walked  off,  taking  his  umbrellas  with  him. 

"Well,  well,  one  is  never  to  give  an  opinion, 
I  suppose,"  grumbled  the  portrait.  And  it  woke 
Hjalmar. 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

SUNDAY 

"  Good  evening,"  said  Ole-Luk-Oie. 

Hjalmar  nodded,  and  then  sprang  out  of  bed  and 
turned  his  great-grandfather's  portrait  to  the  wall 
so  that  it  might  not  interrupt  them  as  it  had  done 
yesterday.  "  Now,"  said  he,  "you  must  tell  me  some 
stories  about  five  green  peas  that  lived  in  one  pod, 
or  of  the  chickseed  that  courted  the  chickweed, 
or  of  the  Darning-needle  who  acted  so  proudly 
because  she  fancied  herself  an  embroidery  needle." 

:'  You  may  have  too  much  of  a  good  thing," 
said  Ole-Luk-Oie.  "You  know  that  I  like  best 
to  show  you  something,  so  I  will  show  you  my 
brother.  He  is  also  called  Ole-Luk-Oie,  but  he 
never  visits  any  one  but  once,  and  when  he  does 
come  he  takes  him  away  on  his  horse  and  tells 
him  stories  as  they  ride  along. 

"He  knows  only  two  stories.  One  of  these  is 
so  wonderfully  beautiful  that  no  one  in  the  world 
can  imagine  anything  at  all  like  it,  but  the  other 
it  would  be  impossible  to  describe." 

Then  Ole-Luk-Oie  lifted  Hjalmar  up  to  the 
window.  "  There,  now  you  can  see  my  brother, 


OLE-LUK-OIE,    THE    DREAM    GOD 

the  other  Ole-Luk-Oie;  he  is  also  called  Death. 
You  see  he  is  not  so  bad  as  they  represent  him  in 
picture  books.  There  he  is  a  skeleton,  but  here 
his  coat  is  embroidered  with  silver,  and  he  wears 
the  splendid  uniform  of  a  hussar,  and  a  mantle 
of  black  velvet  flies  behind  him  over  the  horse. 
Look,  how  he  gallops  along." 

Hjalmar  saw  that  as  this  Ole-Luk-Oie  rode 
on  he  lifted  up  old  and  young  and  carried  them 
away  on  his  horse.  Some  he  seated  in  front  of 
him  and  some  behind,  but  always  inquired  first, 
"  How  stands  the  record  book  ? " 

"  Good,"  they  all  answered. 

"  Yes,  but  let  me  see  for  myself,"  he  replied, 
and  they  were  obliged  to .  give  him  the  books. 
Then  all  those  who  had  "  Very  good  "  or  "  Exceed- 
ingly good  "  came  in  front  of  the  horse  and  heard 
the  beautiful  story,  while  those  who  had  "  Mid- 
dling "  or  "  Fairly  good "  in  their  books  were 
obliged  to  sit  behind.  They  cried  and  wanted  to 
jump  down  from  the  horse,  but  they  could  not 
get  free,  for  they  seemed  fastened  to  the  seat. 

"  Why,  Death  is  a  most  splendid  Luk-Oie,"  said 
Hjalmar.  "  I  am  not  in  the  least  afraid  of  him." 

[167] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"  You  need  have  no  fear  of  him,"  said  Ole-Luk- 
Oie ;  "  but  take  care  and  keep  a  good  conduct 
book." 

"Now  I  call  that  very  instructive,"  murmured 
the  great-grandfather's  portrait.  "It  is  useful 
sometimes  to  express  an  opinion."  So  he  was 
quite  satisfied. 

These  are  some  of  the  doings  and  sayings  of 
Ole-Luk-Oie.  I  hope  he  may  visit  you  himself 
this  evening  and  relate  some  more. 


[168] 


THE  MONEY  BOX 

'N  A  NURSERY  where  a  number  of  toys  lay 
scattered  about,  a  money  box  stood  on  the  top 
of  a  very  high  wardrobe.  It  was  made  of  clay 
in  the  shape  of  a  pig  and  had  been  bought  of  the 
potter.  In  the  back  of  the  pig  was  a  slit,  and  this 
slit  had  been  enlarged  with  a  knife  so  that  dollars, 
or  even  crown  pieces,  might  slip  through  —  and  in- 
deed there  were  two  in  the  box,  besides  a  number 
of  pence.  The  money-pig  was  stuffed  so  full  that 
it  could  no  longer  rattle,  which  is  the  highest  state 
of  perfectness  to  which  a  money-pig  can  attain. 

There  he  stood  upon  the  cupboard,  high  and 
lofty,  looking  down  upon  everything  else  in  the 
room.  He  knew  very  well  that  he  had  enough 
inside  himself  to  buy  up  all  the  other  toys,  and 
this  gave  him  a  very  good  opinion  of  his  own  value. 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

The  rest  thought  of  this  fact  also,  although 
they  did  not  express  it,  there  were  so  many 
other  things  to  talk  about.  A  large  doll,  still 
handsome  (though  rather  old,  for  her  neck  had 
been  mended)  lay  inside  one  of  the  drawers,  which 
was  partly  open.  She  called  out  to  the  others, 
"  Let  us  have  a  game  at  being  men  and  women ; 
that  is  something  worth  playing  at." 

Upon  this  there  was  a  great  uproar;  even  the 
engravings  which  hung  in  frames  on  the  wall 
turned  round  in  their  excitement  and  showed  that 
they  had  a  wrong  side  to  them,  although  they 
had  not  the  least  intention  of  exposing  themselves 
in  this  way  or  of  objecting  to  the  game. 

It  was  late  at  night,  but  as  the  moon  shone 
through  the  windows,  they  had  light  at  a  cheap 
rate.  And  as  the  game  was  now  to  begin,  all  were 
invited  to  take  part  in  it,  even  the  children's 
wagon,  which  certainly  belonged  among  the 
coarser  playthings.  "  Each  has  its  own  value," 
said  the  wagon ;  "  we  cannot  all  be  noblemen ; 
there  must  be  some  to  do  the  work." 

The  money-pig  was  the  only  one  who  received 
a  written  invitation.  He  stood  so  high  that  they 

[170] 


THE    MONEY    BOX 

were  afraid  he  would  not  accept  a  verbal  message. 
But  in  his  reply  he  said  if  he  had  to  take  a  part 
he  must  enjoy  the  sport  from  his  own  home ;  they 
were  to  arrange  for  him  to  do  so.  And  so  they  did. 

The  little  toy  theater  was  therefore  put  up  in 
such  a  way  that  the  money-pig  could  look  directly 
into  it.  Some  wanted  to  begin  with  a  comedy 
and  afterwards  to  have  a  tea  party  and  a  dis- 
cussion for  mental  improvement,  but  they  began 
with  the  latter  first. 

The  rocking-horse  spoke  of  training  and  races ; 
the  wagon,  of  railways  and  steam  power  — for  these 
subjects  belonged  to  each  of  their  professions, 
and  it  was  right  they  should  talk  of  them.  The 
clock  talked  politics — "Tick,  tick."  He  professed 
to  know  what  was  the  time  of  the  day,  but  there 
was  a  whisper  that  he  did  not  go  correctly. 
The  bamboo  cane  stood  by,  looking  stiff  and 
proud  (he  was  vain  of  his  brass  ferrule  and  silver 
top),  and  on  the  sofa  lay  two  worked  cushions, 
pretty  but  stupid. 

When  the  play  at  the  little  theater  began,  the 
rest  sat  and  looked  on ;  they  were  requested  to 
applaud  and  stamp,  or  crack,  whenever  they  felt 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

gratified  with  what  they  saw.  The  riding  whip 
said  he  never  cracked  for  old  people,  only  for 
the  young  —  those  who  were  not  yet  married. 
"  I  crack  for  everybody,"  said  the  nutcracker. 

"  Yes,  and  a  fine  noise  you  make,"  thought  the 
audience  as  the  play  went  on. 

It  was  not  worth  much,  but  it  was  very  well 
played,  and  all  the  actors  turned  their  painted  sides 
to  the  audience,  for  they  were  made  to  be  seen 
only  on  one  side.  The  acting  was  wonderful,  ex- 
cepting that  sometimes  the  actors  came  out  beyond 
the  lamps,  because  the  wires  were  a  little  too  long. 

The  doll  whose  neck  had  been  mended  was 
so  excited  that  the  place  in  her  neck  burst,  and 
the  money-pig  declared  he  must  do  something 
for  one  of  the  players  as  they  had  all  pleased 
him  so  much.  So  he  made  up  his  mind  to  men- 
tion one  of  them  in  his  will  as  the  one  to  be 
buried  with  him  in  the  family  vault,  whenever 
that  event  should  happen. 

They  enjoyed  the  comedy  so  much  that  they 
gave  up  all  thoughts  of  the  tea  party  and  only 
carried  out  their  idea  of  intellectual  amusement, 
which  they  called  playing  at  men  and  women. 

[172] 


THE   MONEY    BOX 

And  there  was  nothing  wrong  about  it,  for  it 
was  only  play.  All  the  while  each  one  thought 
most  of  himself  or  of  what  the  money-pig  could 
be  thinking.  The  money-pig's  thoughts  were  on 
(as  he  supposed)  a  very  far-distant  time  —  of 
making  his  will,  and  of  his  burial,  and  of  when 
it  might  all  come  to  pass. 

Certainly  sooner  than  he  expected ;  for  all  at 
once  down  he  came  from  the  top  of  the  press, 
fell  on  the  floor,  and  was  broken  to  pieces. 
Then  all  the  pennies  hopped  and  danced  about 
in  the  most  amusing  manner.  The  little  ones 
twirled  round  like  tops,  and  the  large  ones  rolled 
away  as  far  as  they  could,  especially  the  one 
great  silver  crown  piece,  who  had  often  wanted 
to  go  out  into  the  world.  And  he  had  his  wish  as 
well  as  all  the  rest  of  the  money.  The  pieces 
of  the  money-pig  were  thrown  into  the  dustbin, 
and  the  next  day  there  stood  a  new  money-pig 
on  the  cupboard,  but  it  had  not  a  farthing  in- 
side it  yet,  and  therefore,  like  the  old  one,  could 
not  rattle. 

This  was  the  beginning  with  him,  and  with 
us  it  shall  be  the  end  of  our  story. 


ELDER-TREE  MOTHER 

y    II    ^HERE    was   once  a   little    boy   who   had 

taken  cold  by  going  out  and  getting  his 

JLL    feet  wet.    No  one  could  think  how  he  had 

managed   to   do  so,  for   the  weather   was   quite 

dry.    His   mother   undressed    him   and    put   him 

to  bed,  and  then  she  brought  in  the  teapot   to 

make  him  a  good  cup  of  elder  tea,  which  is  so 

warming. 

At  the  same  time  the  friendly  old  man  who 
lived  all  alone  at  the  top  of  the  house  came  in 
at  the  door.  He  had  neither  wife  nor  child,  but 
he  was  very  fond  of  children  and  knew  so  many 
fairy  tales  and  stories  that  it  was  a  pleasure  to 
hear  him  talk.  "  Now,  if  you  drink  your  tea," 
said  the  mother,  "  very  likely  you  will  have  a 
story  in  the  meantime." 


at  how  did  the  little  fellow 
get  hi*  feet  wet  J|  " 

disked  he  «  - 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

'  Yes,  if  I  could  think  of  a  new  one  to  tell," 
said  the  old  man.  "  But  how  did  the  little  fel- 
low get  his  feet  wet  ?  "  asked  he. 

"Ah,"  said  the  mother,  "  that  is  what  we  can- 
not make  out." 

"  Will  you  tell  me  a  story  ?  "  asked  the  boy. 

'  Yes,  if  you  can  tell  me  exactly  how  deep  the 
gutter  is  in  the  little  street  through  which  you 
go  to  school." 

"  Just  halfway  up  to  my  knee,"  said  the  boy, 
promptly ;  "  that  is,  if  I  stand  in  the  deepest 
part." 

"It  is  easy  to  see  how  we  got  our  feet  wet," 
said  the  old  man.  "  Well,  now  I  suppose  I  ought 
to  tell  a  story,  but  really  I  don't  know  any  more." 

'  You  can  make  up  one,  I  know,"  said  the  boy. 
"  Mother  says  that  you  can  turn  everything  you 
look  at  into  a  story,  and  everything,  even,  that 
you  touch." 

"Ah,  but  those  tales  and  stories  are  worth 
nothing.  The  real  ones  come  of  themselves ;  they 
knock  at  my  forehead  and  say,  '  Here  we  are ! ' : 

"  Won't  there  be  a  knock  soon  ?  "  asked  the  boy. 
And  his  mother  laughed  as  she  put  elder  flowers 


ELDER-TREE    MOTHER 

in  the  teapot  and  poured  boiling  water  over  them. 
"  Oh,  do  tell  me  a  story." 

'*  Yes,  if  a  story  comes  of  itself,  but  tales  and 
stories  are  very  grand ;  they  only  come  when  it 
pleases  them.  Stop,"  he  cried  all  at  once,  "  here 
we  have  it ;  look !  there  is  a  story  in  the  teapot 


now." 


The  little  boy  looked  at  the  teapot  and  saw 
the  lid  raise  itself  gradually  and  long  branches 
stretch  out,  even  from  the  spout,  in  all  directions 
till  they  became  larger  and  larger,  and  there 
appeared  a  great  elder  tree  covered  with  flowers 
white  and  fresh.  It  spread  itself  even  to  the 
bed  and  pushed  the  curtains  aside,  and  oh,  how 
fragrant  the  blossoms  were ! 

In  the  midst  of  the  tree  sat  a  pleasant-looking 
old  woman  in  a  very  strange  dress.  The  dress 
was  green,  like  the  leaves  of  the  elder  tree,  and 
was  decorated  with  large  white  elder  blossoms. 
It  was  not  easy  to  tell  whether  the  border  was 
made  of  some  kind  of  stuff  or  of  real  flowers. 

"What  is  that  woman's  name?"  asked  the  boy. 

'  The  Romans  and  Greeks  called  her  a  dryad," 
said  the  old  man,  "  but  we  do  not  understand 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

that  name;  we  have  a  better  one  for  her  in  the 
quarter  of  the  town  where  the  sailors  live.  They 
call  her  Elder-flower  Mother,  and  you  must  pay 
attention  to  her  now,  and  listen  while  you  look 
at  the  beautiful  tree. 

"Just  such  a  large,  blooming  tree  as  this  stands 
outside  in  the  corner  of  a  poor  little  yard,  and 
under  this  tree,  one  bright -sunny  afternoon,  sat 
two  old  people,  a  sailor  and  his  wife.  They  had 
great-grandchildren,  and  would  soon  celebrate  the 
golden  wedding,  which  is  the  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary of  the  wedding  day  in  many  countries,  and 
the  Elder  Mother  sat  in  the  tree  and  looked  as 
pleased  as  she  does  now. 

*  I  know  when  the  golden  wedding  is  to  be,' 
said  she,  but  they  did  not  hear  her;  they  were 
talking  of  olden  times.  '  Do  you  remember,'  said 
the  old  sailor,  'when  we  were  quite  little  and 
used  to  run  about  and  play  in  the  very  same  yard 
where  we  are  now  sitting,  and  how  we  planted 
little  twigs  in  one  corner  and  made  a  garden  ? ' 

'  Yes,'  said  the  old  woman,  *  I  remember  it 
quite  well ;  and  how  we  watered  the  twigs,  and 
one  of  them  was  a  sprig  of  elder  that  took  root 

[178] 


ELDER-TREE    MOTHER 

and  put  forth  green  shoots,  until  in  time  it  be- 
came the  great  tree  under  which  we  old  people 
are  now  seated.' 

1  To  be  sure,'  he  replied,  '  and  in  that  corner 
yonder  stands  the  water  butt  in  which  I  used  to 
swim  my  boat  that  I  had  cut  out  all  myself ;  and 
it  sailed  well  too.  But  since  then  I  have  learned 
a  very  different  kind  of  sailing.' 

'  Yes,  but  before  that  we  went  to  school,'  said 
she,  'and  then  we  were  prepared  for  confirma- 
tion. How  we  both  cried  on  that  day!  But  in 
the  afternoon  we  went  hand  in  hand  up  to  the 
round  tower  and  saw  the  view  over  Copenhagen 
and  across  the  water;  then  we  went  to  Freder- 
icksburg,  where  the -king  and  queen  were  sailing 
in  their  beautiful  boat  on  the  canals.' 

'  But  I  had  to  sail  on  a  very  different  voyage 
elsewhere  and  be  away  from  home  for  years  on 
long  voyages,'  said  the  old  sailor. 

'  'Ah  yes,  and  I  used  to  cry  about  you,'  said 
she,  '  for  I  thought  you  must  be  lying  drowned 
at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  with  the  waves  sweep- 
ing over  you.  And  many  a  time  have  I  got  up 
in  the  night  to  see  if  the  weathercock  had  turned ; 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

it  turned  often  enough,  but  you  came  not.  How 
well  I  remember  one  day  the  rain  was  pouring 
down  from  the  skies,  and  the  man  came  to  the 
house  where  I  was  in  service  to  take  away  the 
dust.  I  went  down  to  him  with  the  dust  box  and 
stood  for  a  moment  at  the  door,  —  what  shock- 
ing weather  it  was !  —  and  while  I  stood  there 
the  postman  came  up  and  brought  me  a  letter 
from  you. 

'  How  that  letter  had  traveled  about !  I  tore 
it  open  and  read  it.  I  laughed  and  wept  at  the 
same  time,  I  was  so  happy.  It  said  that  you 
were  in  warm  countries  where  the  coffee  berries 
grew,  and  what  a  beautiful  country  it  was,  and 
described  many  other  wonderful  things.  And  so  I 
stood  reading  by  the  dustbin,  with  the  rain  pour- 
ing down,  when  all  at  once  somebody  came  and 
clasped  me  round  the  waist.' 

'  Yes,  and  you  gave  him  such  a  box  on  the 
ears  that  they  tingled,'  said  the  old  man. 

'  I  did  not  know  that  it  was  you,'  she  replied ; 
'  but  you  had  arrived  as  quickly  as  your  letter,  and 
you  looked  so  handsome,  and,  indeed,  so  you  are 
still.  You  had  a  large  yellow  silk  handkerchief  in 

[180] 


ELDER-TREE    MOTHER 

your  pocket  and  a  shiny  hat  on  your  head.  You 
looked  quite  fine.  And  all  the  time  what  weather 
it  was,  and  how  dismal  the  street  looked ! ' 

'  'And  then  do  you  remember,'  said  he,  'when 
we  were  married,  and  our  first  boy  came,  and  then 
Marie,  and  Niels,  and  Peter,  and  Hans  Christian?' 

'Indeed  I  do,'  she  replied;  'and  they  are  all 
grown  up  respectable  men  and  women,  whom 
every  one  likes.' 

"  'And  now  their  children  have  little  ones,'  said 
the  old  sailor.  'There  are  great-grandchildren  for 
us,  strong  and  healthy  too.  Was  it  not  about 
this  time  of  year  that  we  were  married  ? ' 

'  Yes,  and  to-day  is  the  golden-wedding  day,' 
said  Elder-tree  Mother,  popping  her  head  out  just 
between  the  two  old  people ;  and  they  thought 
it  was  a  neighbor  nodding  to  them.  Then  they 
looked  at  each  other  and  clasped  their  hands  to- 
gether. Presently  came  their  children  and  grand- 
children, who  knew  very  well  that  it  was  the 
golden-wedding  day.  They  had  already  wished 
them  joy  on  that  very  morning,  but  the  old  peo- 
ple had  forgotten  it,  although  they  remembered 
so  well  all  that  had  happened  many  years  before. 

[181] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

And  the  elder  tree  smelled  sweet,  and  the  setting 
sun  shone  upon  the  faces  of  the  old  people  till 
they  looked  quite  ruddy.  And  the  youngest  of 
their  grandchildren  danced  round  them  joyfully, 
and  said  they  were  going  to  have  a  feast  in  the 
evening,  and  there  were  to  be  hot  potatoes.  Then 
the  Elder  Mother  nodded  in  the  tree  and  cried 
'Hurrah!'  with  all  the  rest." 

"But  that-  is  not  a  story,"  said 'the  little  boy 
who  had  been  listening. 

"  Not  till  you  understand  it,"  said  the  old  man. 
"  But  let  us  ask  the  Elder  Mother  to  explain  it." 

"It  was  not  exactly  a  story,"  said  the  Elder 
Mother,  "  but  the  story  is  coming  now,  and  it  is 
a  true  one.  For  out  of  truth  the  most  wonderful 
stories  grow,  just  as  my  beautiful  elder  bush  has 
sprung  out  of  the  teapot."  And  then  she  took 
the  little  boy  out  of  bed  and  laid  him  on  her 
bosom,  and  the  blooming  branches  of  elder  closed 
over  them  so  that  they  sat,  as  it  were,  in  a  leafy 
bower,  and  the  bower  flew  with  them  through 
the  air  in  the  most  delightful  manner. 

Then  the  Elder  Mother  all  at  once  changed  to 
a  beautiful  young  maiden,  but  her  dress  was  still 


ELDER-TREE   MOTHER 

of  the  same  green  stuff,  ornamented  with  a  bor- 
der of  white  elder  blossoms  such  as  the  Elder 
Mother  had  worn.  In  her  bosom  she  wore  a  real 
elder  flower,  and  a  wreath  of  the  same  was  en- 
twined in  her  golden  ringlets.  Her  large  blue 
eyes  were  very  beautiful  to  look  at.  She  was  of 
the  same  age  as  the  boy,  and  they  kissed  each 
other  and  felt  very  happy. 

They  left  the  arbor  together,  hand  in  hand? 
and  found  themselves  in  a  beautiful  flower  gar- 
den which  belonged  to  their  home.  On  the  green 
lawn  their  father's  stick  was  tied  up.  There  was 
life  in  this  stick  for  the  little  ones,  for  no  sooner 
did  they  place  themselves  upon  it  than  the  white 
knob  changed  into  a  pretty  neighing  head  with 
a  black,  flowing  mane,  and  four  long,  slender  legs 
sprung  forth.  The  creature  was  strong  and  spir- 
ited, and  galloped  with  them  round  the  grassplot. 

"  Hurrah !  now  we  will  ride  many  miles  away," 
said  the  boy ;  "  we  '11  ride  to  the  nobleman's  estate, 
where  we  went  last  year." 

Then  they  rode  round  the  grassplot  again,  and 
the  little  maiden,  who,  we  know,  was  Elder-tree 
Mother,  kept  crying  out :  "  Now  we  are  in  the 

[183] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

country.  Do  you  see  the  farmhouse,  with  a  great 
baking  oven  standing  out  from  the  wall  by  the  road- 
side like  agigantic  egg?  There  is  an  elder  spreading 
its  branches  over  it,  and  a  cock  is  marching  about 
and  scratching  for  the  chickens.  See  how  he  struts! 
"  Now  we  are  near  the  church.  There  it  stands 
on  the  hill,  shaded  by  the  great  oak  trees,  one  of 
which  is  half  dead.  See,  here  we  are  at  the  black- 
smith's forge.  How  the  fire  burns !  And  the 
half-clad  men  are  striking  the  hot  iron  with  the 
hammer,  so  that  the  sparks  fly  about.  Now  then, 
away  to  the  nobleman's  beautiful  estate !  "  And 
the  boy  saw  all  that  the  little  girl  spoke  of  as  she 
sat  behind  him  on  the  stick,  for  it  passed  before 
him  although  they  were  only  galloping  round  the 
grassplot.  Then  they  played  together  in  a  side 
walk  and  raked  up  the.  earth  to  make  a  little 
garden.  Then  she  took  elder  flowers  out  of  her 
hair  and  planted  them,  and  they  grew  just  like 
those  which  he  had  heard  the  old  people  talking 
about,  and  which  they  had  planted  in  their  young 
days.  They  walked  about  hand  in  hand  too,  just 
as  the  old  people  had  done  when  they  were  chil- 
dren, but  they  did  not  go  up  the  round  tower  nor 

[184] 


ELDER-TREE    MOTHER 

to  Fredericksburg  garden.  No ;  but  the  little  girl 
seized  the  boy  round  the  waist,  and  they  rode 
all  over  the  whole  country  (sometimes  it  was 
spring,  then  summer;  then  autumn  and  winter 
followed),  while  thousands  of  images  were  pre- 
sented to  the  boy's  eyes  and  heart,  and  the  little 
girl  constantly  sang  to  him,  "  You  must  never 
forget  all  this."  And  through  their  whole  flight 
the  elder  tree  sent  forth  the  sweetest  fragrance. 

They  passed  roses  and  fresh  beech  trees,  but 
the  perfume  of  the  elder  tree  was  stronger  than 
all,  for  its  flowers  hung  round  the  little  maiden's 
heart,  against  which  the  boy  so  often  leaned  his 
head  during  their  flight. 

"  It  is  beautiful  here  in  the  spring,"  said  the 
maiden,  as  they  stood  in  a  grove  of  beech  trees 
covered  with  fresh  green  leaves,  while  at  their 
feet  the  sweet-scented  thyme  and  blushing  anem- 
one lay  spread  amid  the  green  grass  in  delicate 
bloom.  "  O  that  it  were  always  spring  in  the 
fragrant  beech  groves  !  " 

"  Here  it  is  delightful  in  summer,"  said  the 
maiden,  as  they  passed  old  knights'  castles  tell- 
ing of  days  gone  by  and  saw  the  high  walls  and 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

pointed  gables  mirrored  in  the  rivers  beneath, 
where  swans  were  sailing  about  and  peeping  into 
the  cool  green  avenues.  In  the  fields  the  corn 
waved  to  and  fro  like  the  sea.  Red  and  yellow 
flowers  grew  amongst  the  ruins,  and  the  hedges 
were  covered  with  wild  hops  and  blooming  con- 
volvulus. In  the  evening  the  moon  rose  round 
and  full,  and  the  haystacks  in  the  meadows  filled 
the  air  with  their  sweet  scent.  These  were  scenes 
never  to  be  forgotten. 

"  It  is  lovely  here  also  in  autumn,"  said  the. 
little  maiden,  and  then  the  scene  changed  again. 
The  sky  appeared  higher  and  more  beautifully 
blue,  while  the  forest  glowed  with  colors  of  red, 
green,  and  gold.  The  hounds  were  off  to  the 
chase,  and  large  flocks  of  wild  birds  flew  scream- 
ing over  the  Huns'  graves,  where  the  blackberry 
bushes  twined  round  the  old  ruins.  The  dark 
blue  sea  was  dotted  with  white  sails,  and  in  the 
barns  sat  old  women,  maidens,  and  children  pick- 
ing hops  into  a  large  tub.  The  young  ones  sang 
songs,  and  the  old  ones  told  fairy  tales  of  wiz- 
ards and  witches.  There  could  be  nothing  more 
pleasant  than  all  this. 

[186] 


ELDER-TREE    MOTHER 

"Again,",  said  the  maiden,  "it  is  beautiful  here 
in  winter."  Then  in  a  moment  all  the  trees  were 
covered  with  hoarfrost,  so  that  they  looked  like 
white  coral.  The  snow  crackled  beneath  the  feet 
as  if  every  one  had  on  new  boots,  and  one  shoot- 
ing star  after  another  fell  from  the  sky.  In  warm 
rooms  there  could  be  seen  the  Christmas  trees, 
decked  out  with  presents  and  lighted  up  amid 
festivities  and  joy.  In  the  country  farmhouses 
could  be  heard  the  sound  of  a  violin,  and  there 
were  games  for  apples,  so  that  even  the  poorest 
child  could  say,  "  It  is  beautiful  in  winter." 

And  beautiful  indeed  were  all  the  scenes  which 
the  maiden  showed  to  the  little  boy,  and  always 
around  them  floated  the  fragrance  of  the  elder 
blossom,  and  ever  above  them  waved  the  red  flag 
with  the  white  cross,  under  which  the  old  seaman 
had  sailed.  The  boy  —  who  had  become  a  youth, 
and  who  had  gone  as  a  sailor  out  into  the  *wide 
world  and  sailed  to  warm  countries  where  the 
coffee  grew,  and  to  whom  the  little  girl  had  given 
an  elder  blossom  from  her  bosom  for  a  keepsake, 
when  she  took  leave  of  him  —  placed  the  flower 
in  his  hymn  book ;  and  when  he  opened  it  in 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

foreign  lands  he  always  turned  to  the  spot  where 
this  flower  of  remembrance  lay,  and  the  more  he 
looked  at  it  the  fresher  it  appeared.  He  could, 
as  it  were,  breathe  the  homelike  fragrance  of 
the  woods,  and  see  the  little  girl  looking  at  him 
from  between  the  petals  of  the  flower  with  her 
clear  blue  eyes,  and  hear  her  whispering,  "It  is 
beautiful  here  at  home  in  spring  and  summer,  in 
autumn  and  in  winter,"  while  hundreds  of  these 
home  scenes  passed  through  his  memory. 

Many  years  had  passed,  and  he  was  now  an  old 
man,  seated  with  his  old  wife  under  an  elder  tree 
in  full  blossom.  They  were  holding  each  other's 
hands,  just  as  the  great-grandfather  and  grand- 
mother had  done,  and  spoke,  as  they  did,  of  olden 
times  .and  of  the  golden  wedding.  The  little 
maiden  with  the  blue  eyes  and  with  the  elder 
blossoms  in  her  hair  sat  in  the  tree  and  nodded 
to  them  and  said,  "  To-day  is  the  golden  wedding." 

And  then  she  took  two  flowers  out  of  her  wreath 
and  kissed  them,  and  they  shone  first  like  silver 
and  then  like  gold,  and  as  she  placed  them  on 
the  heads  of  the  old  people,  each  flower  became  a 
golden  crown.  And  there  they  sat  like  a  king  and 

[188] 


placed  them  on  the 

of  the  old  people,  e&,cb  flower 
v  golden 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY   TALES 

queen  under  the  sweet-scented  tree,  which  still 
looked  like  an  elder  bush.  Then  he  related  to  his 
old  wife  the  story  of  the  Elder-tree  Mother,  just 
as  he  had  heard  it  told  when  he  was  a  little  boy, 
and  they  both  fancied  it  very  much  like  their 
own  story,  especially  in  parts  which  they  liked 
the  best. 

"  Well,  and  so  it  is,"  said  the  little  maiden  in 
the  tree.  "  Some  call  me  Elder  Mother,  others  a 
dryad,  but  my  real  name  is  Memory.  It  is  I  who 
sit  in  the  tree  as  it  grows  and  grows,  and  I  can 
think  of  the  past  and  relate  many  things.  Let 
me  see  if  you  have  still  preserved  the  flower." 

Then  the  old  man  opened  his  hymn  book,  and 
there  lay  the  elder  flower,  as  fresh  as  if  it  had  only 
just  been  placed  there,  and  Memory  nodded. 
And  the  two  old  people  with  the  golden  crowns 
on  their  heads  sat  in  the  red  glow  of  the  evening 
sunlight  and  closed  their  eyes,  and  —  and  —  the 
story  was  ended. 

The  little  boy  lay  in  his  bed  and  did  not  quite 
know  whether  he  had  been  dreaming  or  listening 
to  a  story.  The  teapot  stood  on  the  table,  but  no 
elder  bush  grew  out  of  it,  and  the  old  man  who 

[190] 


ELDER-TREE    MOTHER 

had  really  told  the  tale  was  on  the  threshold  and 
just  going  out  at  the  door. 

"  How  beautiful  it  was,"  said  the  little  boy. 
"  Mother,  I  have  been  to  warm  countries." 

"  I  can  quite  believe  it,"  said  his  mother. 
"  When  any  one  drinks  two  full  cups  of  elder-flower 
tea,  he  may  well  get  into  warm  countries  "  ;  and 
then  she  covered  him  up,  that  he  should  not  take 
cold.  :<  You  have  slept  well  while  I  have  been 
disputing  with  the  old  man  as  to  whether  it  was 
a  real  story  or  a  fairy  legend." 

"And  where  is  the  Elder-tree  Mother?  "  asked 
the  boy. 

"  She  is  in  the  teapot,"  said  the  mother,  "  and 
there  she  may  stay." 


THE   SNOW  QUEEN 

STORY  THE   FIRST 

WHICH   DESCRIBES  A  LOOKING-GLASS  AND  ITS 
BROKEN   FRAGMENTS 

YOU    must    attend    to    the    beginning   of 
this  story,  for  when  we  get  to  the  end 
we   shall    know  more    than  we    now  do 
about  a  very  wicked  hobgoblin ;    he  was  one  of 
the  most  mischievous  of  all  sprites,  for  he  was 
a  real  demon. 

One  day  when  he  was  in  a  merry  mood  he 
made  a  looking-glass  which  had  the  power  of 
making  everything  good  or  beautiful  that  was  re- 
flected in  it  shrink  almost  to  nothing,  while  every- 
thing that  was  worthless  and  bad  was  magnified 
so  as  to  look  ten  times  worse  than  it  really  was. 

[192] 


THE    SNOW   QUEEN 

The  most  lovely  landscapes  appeared  like  boiled 
spinach,  and  all  the  people  became  hideous  and 
looked  as  if  they  stood  on  their  heads  and  had 
no  bodies.  Their  countenances  were  so  distorted 
that  no  one  could  recognize  them,  and  even  one 
freckle  on  the  face  appeared  to  spread  over  the 
whole  of  the  nose  and  mouth.  The  demon  said 
this  was  very  amusing.  When  a  good  or  holy 
thought  passed  through  the  mind  of  any  one  a 
wrinkle  was  seen  in  the  mirror,  and  then  how 
the  demon  laughed  at  his  cunning  invention. 

All  who  went  to  the  demon's  school  —  for  he 
kept  a  school  —  talked  everywhere  of  the  wonders 
they  had  seen,  and  declared  that  people  could 
now,  for  the  first  time,  see  what  the  world  and 
its  inhabitants  were  really  like.  They  carried  the 
glass  about  everywhere,  till  at  last  there  was  not 
a  land  nor  a  people  who  had  not  been  looked  at 
through  this  distorted  mirror. 

They  wanted  even  to  fly  with  it  up  to  heaven 
to  see  the  angels,  but  the  higher  they  flew  the  more 
slippery  the  glass  became,  and  they  could  scarcely 
hold  it.  At  last  it  slipped  from  their  hands,  fell  to 
the  earth,  and  was  broken  into  millions  of  pieces. 

[193] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

But  now  the  looking-glass  caused  more  unhap- 
piness  than  ever,  for  some  of  the  fragments  were 
not  so  large  as  a  grain  of  sand,  and  they  flew 
about  the  world  into  every  country.  And  when  one 
of  these  tiny  atoms  flew  into  a  person's  eye  it  stuck 
there,  unknown  to  himself,  and  from  that  moment 
he  viewed  everything  the  wrong  way,  and  could 
see  only  the  worst  side  of  what  he  looked  at, 
for  even  the  smallest  fragment  retained  the  same 
power  which  had  belonged  to  the  whole  mirror. 

Some  few  persons  even  got  a  splinter  of  the 
looking-glass  in  their  hearts,  and  this  was  terrible, 
for  their  hearts  became  cold  and  hard  like  a  lump 
of  ice.  A  few  of  the  pieces  were  so  large  that 
they  could  be  used  as  windowpanes;  it  would 
have  been  a  sad  thing  indeed  to  look  at  our 
friends  through  them.  Other  pieces  were  made 
into  spectacles,  and  this  was  dreadful,  for  those 
who  wore  them  could  see  nothing  either  rightly 
or  justly.  At  all  this  the  wicked  demon  laughed 
till  his  sides  shook,  to  see  the  mischief  he  had 
done.  There  are  still  a  number  of  these  little  frag- 
ments of  glass  floating  about  in  the  air,  and  now 
you  shall  hear  what  happened  with  one  of  them. 

['94] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

SECOND   STORY 
A  LITTLE   BOY  AND  A  LITTLE  GIRL 

In  a  large  town  full  of  houses  and  people  there 
is  not  room  for  everybody  to  have  even  a  little 
garden.  Most  people  are  obliged  to  content  them- 
selves with  a  few  flowers  in  flowerpots. 

In  one  of  these  large  towns  lived  two  poor 
children  who  had  a  garden  somewhat  larger  and 
better  than  a  few  flowerpots.  They  were  not 
brother  and  sister,  but  they  loved  each  other 
almost  as  much  as  if  they  had  been.  Their 
parents  lived  opposite  each  other  in  two  garrets 
where  the  roofs  of  neighboring  houses  nearly 
joined  each  other,  and  the  water  pipe  ran  between 
them.  In  each  roof  was  a  little  window,  so  that 
any  one  could  step  across  the  gutter  from  one 
window  to  the  other. 

The  parents  of  each  of  these  children  had  a 
large  wooden  box  in  which  they  cultivated  kitchen 
vegetables  for  their  own  use,  and  in  each  box  was 
a  little  rosebush  which  grew  luxuriantly. 

After  a  while  the  parents  decided  to  place  these 
two  boxes  across  the  water  pipe,  so  that  they 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

reached  from  one  window  to  the  other  and  looked 
like  two  banks  of  flowers.  Sweet  peas  drooped 
over  the  boxes,  and  the  rosebushes  shot  forth  long 
branches,  which  were  trained  about  the  windows 
and  clustered  together  almost  like  a  triumphal 
arch  of  leaves  and  flowers. 

The  boxes  were  very  high,  and  the  children 
knew  they  must  not  climb  upon  them  without 
permission ;  but  they  often  had  leave  to  step  out 
and  sit  upon  their  little  stools  under  the  rose- 
bushes or  play  quietly  together. 

In  winter  all  this  pleasure  came  to  an  end,  for 
the  windows  were  sometimes  quite  frozen  over. 
But  they  would  warm  copper  pennies  on  the  stove 
and  hold  the  warm  pennies  against  the  frozen 
pane ;  then  there  would  soon  be  a  little  round  hole 
through  which  they  could  peep,  and  the  soft,  bright 
eyes  of  the  little  boy  and  girl  would  sparkle 
through  the  hole  at  each  window  as  they  looked 
at  each  other.  Their  names  were  Kay  and  Gerda. 
In  summer  they  could  be  together  with  one  jump 
from  the  window,  but  in  winter  they  had  to  go 
up  and  down  the  long  staircase  and  out  through 
the  snow  before  they  could  meet. 

[196] 


THE    SNOW   QUEEN 

"  See !  there  are  the  white  bees  swarming,"  said 
Kay's  old  grandmother  one  day  when  it  was 
snowing. 

"  Have  they  a  queen  bee  ?  "  asked  the  little  boy, 
for  he  knew  that  the  real  bees  always  had  a  queen. 

"  To  be  sure  they  have,"  said  the  grandmother. 
"  She  is  flying  there  where  the  swarm  is  thickest. 
She  is  the  largest  of  them  all  and  never  remains 
on  the  earth,  but  flies  up  to  the  dark  clouds. 
Often  at  midnight  she  flies  through  the  streets 
of  the  town  and  breathes  with  her  frosty  breath 
upon  the  windows ;  then  the  ice  freezes  on  the 
panes  into  wonderful  forms  that  look  like  flowers 
and  castles." 

"  Yes,  I  have  seen  them,"  said  both  the  children ; 
and  they  knew  it  must  be  true. 

"  Can  the  Snow  Queen  come  in  here  ? "  asked 
the  little  girl. 

"  Only  let  her  come,"  said  the  boy.  "  I  '11  put 
her  on  the  warm  stove,  and  then  she  '11  melt." 

The  grandmother  smoothed  his  hair  and  told 
him  more  stories. 

That  same  evening  when  little  Kay  was  at 
home,  half  undressed,  he  climbed  upon  a  chair 

['97] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

by  the  window  and  peeped  out  through  the  little 
round  hole.  A  few  flakes  of  snow  were  falling, 
and  one  of  them,  rather  larger  than  the  rest, 
alighted  on  the  edge  of  one  of  the  flower  boxes. 
Strange  to  say,  this  snowflake  grew  larger  and 
larger  till  at  last  it  took  the  form  of  a  woman 
dressed  in  garments  of  white  gauze,  which  looked 
like  millions  of  starry  snowflakes  linked  together. 
She  was  fair  and  beautiful,  but  made  of  ice  — 
glittering,  dazzling  ice.  Still,  she  was  alive,  and 
her  eyes  sparkled  like  bright  stars,  though  there 
was  neither  peace  nor  rest  in  them.  She  nodded 
toward  the  window  and  waved  her  hand.  The 
little  boy  was  frightened  and  sprang  from  the 
chair,  and  at  the  same  moment  it  seemed  as  if 
a  large  bird  flew  by  the  window. 

On  the  following  day  there  was  a  clear  frost, 
and  very  soon  came  the  spring.  The  sun  shone ; 
the  young  green  leaves  burst  forth ;  the  swallows 
built  their  nests ;  windows  were  opened,  and  the 
children  sat  once  more  in  the  garden  on  the  roof, 
high  above  all  the  other  rooms. 

How  beautifully  the  roses  blossomed  this  sum- 
mer !  The  little  girl  had  learned  a  hymn  in  which 


T~ 


he  children 
o  m  the 


once 


on  the   roof 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

roses  were  spoken  of.  She  thought  of  their  own 
roses,  and  she  sang  the  hymn  to  the  little  boy, 
and  he  sang,  too: 

"  Roses  bloom  and  fade  away ; 
The  Christ-child  shall  abide  alway. 
Blessed  are  we  his  face  to  see 
And  ever  little  children  be." 

Then  the  little  ones  held  each  other  by  the  hand, 
and  kissed  the  roses,  and  looked  at  the  bright  sun- 
shine, and  spoke  to  it  as  if  the  Christ-child  were 
really  there.  Those  were  glorious  summer  days. 
How  beautiful  and  fresh  it  was  out  among  the 
rosebushes,  which  seemed  as  if  they  would  never 
leave  off  blooming. 

One  day  Kay  and  Gerda  sat  looking  at  a  book 
of  pictures  of  animals  and  birds.  Just  then,  as 
the  clock  in  the  church  tower  struck  twelve,  Kay 
said,  "  Oh,  something  has  struck  my  heart !  "  and 
soon  after,  "  There  is  certainly  something  in  my 
eye." 

The  little  girl  put  her  arm  round  his  neck  and 
looked  into  his  eye,  but  she  could  see  nothing. 

"  I  believe  it  is  gone,"  he  said.  But  it  was  not 
gone ;  it  was  one  of  those  bits  of  the  looking-glass, 

[  200  ] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

- —  that  magic  mirror  of  which  we  have  spoken,  — 
the  ugly  glass  which  made  everything  great  and 
good  appear  small  and  ugly,  while  all  that  was 
wicked  and  bad  became  more  visible,  and  every 
little  fault  could  be  plainly  seen.  Poor  little  Kay 
had  also  received  a  small  splinter  in  his  heart, 
which  very  quickly  turned  to  a  lump  of  ice.  He 
felt  no  more  pain,  but  the  glass  was  there  still. 
"  Why  do  you  cry?  "  said  he  at  last.  "It  makes 
you  look  ugly.  There  is  nothing  the  matter  with 
me  now.  Oh,  fie !  "  he  cried  suddenly ;  "  that  rose 
is  worm-eaten,  and  this  one  is  quite  crooked. 
After  all,  they  are  ugly  roses,  just  like  the  box 
in  which  they  stand."  And  then  he  kicked  the 
boxes  with  his  foot  and  pulled  off  the  two  roses. 

"Why,  Kay,  what  are  you  doing?"  cried  the  lit- 
tle girl ;  and  then  when  he  saw  how  grieved  she 
was  he  tore  off  another  rose  and  jumped  through 
his  own  window,  away  from  sweet  little  Gerda. 

When  afterward  she  brought  out  the  picture 
book  he  said,  "It  is  only  fit  for  babies  in  long 
clothes,"  and  when  grandmother  told  stories  he 
would  interrupt  her  with  "  but  " ;  or  sometimes 
when  he  could  manage  it  he  would  get  behind 

[201] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

her  chair,  put  on  a  pair  of  spectacles,  and  imi- 
tate her  very  cleverly  to  make  the  people  laugh. 
By  and  by  he  began  to  mimic  the  speech  and  gait 
of  persons  in  the  street.  All  that  was  peculiar  or 
disagreeable  in  a  person  he  would  imitate  directly, 
and  people  said,  "  That  boy  will  be  very  clever ; 
he  has  a  remarkable  genius."  But  it  was  the  piece 
of  glass  in  his  eye  and  the  coldness  in  his  heart 
that  made  him  act  like  this.  He  would  even  tease 
little  Gerda,  who  loved  him  with  all  her  heart. 

His  games  too  were  quite  different;  they  were 
not  so  childlike.  One  winter's  day,  when  it 
snowed,  he  brought  out  a  burning  glass,  then, 
holding  out  the  skirt  of  his  blue  coat,  let  the 
snowflakes  fall  upon  it. 

"  Look  in  this  glass,  Gerda,"  said  he,  and  she 
saw  how  every  flake  of  snow  was  magnified  and 
looked  like  a  beautiful  flower  or  a  glittering  star. 

"  Is  it  not  clever,"  said  Kay,  "  and  much  more 
interesting  than  looking  at  real  flowers?  There 
is  not  a  single  fault  in  it.  The  snowflakes  are 
quite  perfect  till  they  begin  to  melt." 

Soon  after,  Kay  made  his  appearance  in  large, 
thick  gloves  and  with  his  sledge  at  his  back.  He 

[202] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

called  upstairs  to  Gerda,  "  I  Ve  got  leave  to  go 
into  the  great  square,  where  the  other  boys  play 
and  ride."  And  away  he  went. 

In  the  great  square  the  boldest  among  the 
boys  would  often  tie  their  sledges  to  the  wagons 
of  the  country  people  and  so  get  a  ride.  This 
was  capital.  But  while  they  were  all  amusing 
themselves,  and  Kay  with  them,  a  great  sledge 
came  by;  it  was  painted  white,  and  in  it  sat 
some  one  wrapped  in  a  rough  white  fur  and 
wearing  a  white  cap.  The  sledge  drove  twice 
round  the  square,  and  Kay  fastened  his  own 
little  sledge  to  it,  so  that  when  it  went  away 
he  went  with  it.  It  went  faster  and  faster  right 
through  the  next  street,  and  the  person  who 
drove  turned  round  and  nodded  pleasantly  to 
Kay  as  if  they  were  well  acquainted  with  each 
other;  but  whenever  Kay  wished  to  loosen  his 
little  sledge  the  driver  turned  and  nodded  as  if 
to  signify  that  he  was  to  stay,  so  Kay  sat  still, 
and  they  drove  out  through  the  town  gate. 

Then  the  snow  began  to  fall  so  heavily  that 
the  little  boy  could  not  see  a  hand's  breadth 
before  him,  but  still  they  drove  on.  He  suddenly 

[203] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

loosened  the  cord  so  that  the  large  sledge  might 
go  on  without  him,  but  it  was  of  no  use ;  his 
little  carriage  held  fast,  and  away  they  went  like 
the  wind.  Then  he  called  out  loudly,  but  no- 
body heard  him,  while  the  snow  beat  upon  him, 
and  the  sledge  flew  onward.  Every  now  and  then 
it  gave  a  jump,  as  if  they  were  going  over  hedges 
and  ditches.  The  boy  was  frightened  and  tried 
to  say  a  prayer,  but  he  could  remember  nothing 
but  the  multiplication  table. 

The  snowflakes  became  larger  and  larger,  till 
they  appeared  like  great  white  birds.  All  at  once 
they  sprang  on  one  side,  the  great  sledge  stopped, 
and  the  person  who  had  driven  it  rose  up.  The 
fur  and  the  cap,  which  were  made  entirely  of 
snow,  fell  off,  and  he  saw  a  lady,  tall  and  white ; 
it  was  the  Snow  Queen. 

"  We  have  driven  well,"  said  she ;  "  but  why  do 
you  tremble  so  ?  Here,  creep  into  my  warm  fur." 
Then  she  seated  him  beside  her  in  the  sledge, 
and  as  she  wrapped  the  fur  about  him,  he  felt 
as  if  he  were  sinking  into  a  snowdrift. 

"Are  you  still  cold  ?  "  she  asked,  as  she  kissed 
him  on  the  forehead.  The  kiss  was  colder  than 

[204] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

ice ;  it  went  quite  through  to  his  heart,  which 
was  almost  a  lump  of  ice  already.  He  felt  as  if 
he  were  going  to  die,  but  only  for  a  moment  —  he 
soon  seemed  quite  well  and  did  not  notice  the 
cold  all  around  him. 

"  My  sledge !  Don't  forget  my  sledge,"  was  his 
first  thought,  and  then  he  looked  and  saw  that 
it  was  bound  fast  to  one  of  the  white  birds  which 
flew  behind  him.  The  Snow  Queen  kissed  little 
Kay  again,  and  by  this  time  he  had  forgotten 
little  Gerda,  his  grandmother,  and  all  at  home. 

"  Now  you  must  have  no  more  kisses,"  she  said, 
"  or  I  should  kiss  you  to  death." 

Kay  looked  at  her.  She  was  so  beautiful,  he 
could  not  imagine  a  more  lovely  face ;  she  did  not 
now  seem  to  be  made  of  ice  as  when  he  had  seen 
her  through  his  window  and  she  had  nodded  to  him. 

In  his  eyes  she  was  perfect,  and  he  did  not 
feel  at  all  afraid.  He  told  her  he  could  do  mental 
arithmetic  as  far  as  fractions,  and  that  he  knew 
the  number  of  square  miles  and  the  number  of 
inhabitants  in  the  country.  She  smiled,  and  it 
occurred  to  him  that  she  thought  he  did  not  yet 
know  so  very  much. 

[205] 


•HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

He  looked  around  the  vast  expanse  as  she  flew 
higher  and  higher  with  him  upon  a  black  cloud, 
while  the  storm  blew  and  howled  as  if  it  were 
singing  songs  of  olden  time.  They  flew  over 
woods  and  lakes,  over  sea  and  land ;  below  them 
roared  the  wild  wind ;  wolves  howled,  and  the 
snow  crackled ;  over  them  flew  the  black,  scream- 
ing crows,  and  above  all  shone  the  moon,  clear 
and  bright  —  and  so  Kay  passed  through  the 
long,  long  winter's  night,  and  by  day  he  slept  at 
the  feet  of  the  Snow  Queen. 

THIRD   STORY 
THE  ENCHANTED  FLOWER  GARDEN 

But  how  fared  little  Gerda  in  Kay's  absence  ? 

What  had  become  of  him  no  one  knew,  nor 
could  any  one  give  the  slightest  information,  ex- 
cepting the  boys,  who  said  that  he  had  tied  his 
sledge  to  another  very  large  one,  which  had  driven 
through  the  street  and  out  at  the  town  gate.  No 
one  knew  where  it  went.  Many  tears  were  shed 
for  him,  and  little  Gerda  wept  bitterly  for  a  long 
time.  She  said  she  knew  he  must  be  dead,  that 

[2061 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

he  was  drowned  in  the  river  which  flowed  close 
by  the  school.  The  long  winter  da^s  were  very 
dreary.  But  at  last  spring  came  with  warm 
sunshine. 

"  Kay  is  dead  and  gone,"  said  little  Gerda. 

"  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  the  sunshine. 

"  He  is  dead  and  gone,"  she  said  to  the  sparrows. 

"  We  don't  believe  it,"  they  replied,  and  at  last 
little  Gerda  began  to  doubt  it  herself. 

"  I  will  put  on  my  new  red  shoes,"  she  said  one 
morning,  "  those  that  Kay  has  never  seen,  and 
then  I  will  go  down  to  the  river  and  ask  for  him." 

It  was  quite  early  when  she  kissed  her  old 
grandmother,  who  was  still  asleep ;  then  she  put 
on  her  red  shoes  and  went,  quite  alone,  out  of 
the  town  gate,  toward  the  river. 

"Is  it  true  that  you  have  taken  my  little  play- 
mate away  from  me  ? "  she  said  to  the  river.  "  I 
will  give  you  my  red  shoes  if  you  will  give  him 
back  to  me." 

And  it  seemed  as  if  the  waves  nodded  to  her 
in  a  strange  manner.  Then  she  took  off  her  red 
shoes,  which  she  liked  better  than  anything  else, 
and  threw  them  both  into  the  river,  but  they  fell 

[207] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

near  the  bank,  and  the  little  waves  carried  them 
back  to  land  just  as  if  the  river  would  not  take 
from  her  what  she  loved  best,  because  it  could 
not  give  her  back  little  Kay. 

But  she  thought  the  shoes  had  not  been  thrown 
out  far  enough.  Then  she  crept  into  a  boat  that 
lay  among  the  reeds,  and  threw  the  shoes  again 
from  the  farther  end  of  the  boat  into  the  water; 
but  it  was  not  fastened,  and  her  movement  sent 
it  gliding  away  from  the  land.  When  she  saw 
this  she  hastened  to  reach  the  end  of  the  boat, 
but  before  she  could  do  so  it  was  more  than  a 
yard  from  the  bank  and  drifting  away  faster 
than  ever. 

Little  Gerda  was  very  much  frightened.  She 
began  to  cry,  but  no  one  heard  her  except  the 
sparrows,  and  they  could  not-  carry  her  to  land, 
but  they  flew  along  by  the  shore  and  sang  as  if 
to  comfort  her:  "  Here  we  are  !  Here  we  are  !  " 

The  boat  floated  with  the  stream,  and  little 
Gerda  sat  quite  still  with  only  her  stockings  on 
her  feet ;  the  red  shoes  floated  after  her,  but  she 
could  not  reach  them  because  the  boat  kept  so 
much  in  advance. 

[2081 


het*e 


>»  very  old 
out  of  tne 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

The  banks  on  either  side  of  the  river  were  very 
pretty.  There  were  beautiful  flowers,  old  trees, 
sloping  fields  in  which  cows  and  sheep  were 
grazing,  but  not  a  human  being  to  be  seen. 

"  Perhaps  the  river  will  carry  me  to  little  Kay," 
thought  Gerda,  and  then  she  became  more  cheer- 
ful, and  raised  her  head  and  looked  at  the  beau- 
tiful green  banks;  and  so  the  boat  sailed  on  for 
hours.  At  length  she  came  to  a  large  cherry 
orchard,  in  which  stood  a  small  house  with 
strange  red  and  blue  windows.  It  had  also  a 
thatched  roof,  and  outside  were  two  wooden 
soldiers  that  presented  arms  to  her  as  she  sailed 
past.  Gerda  called  out  to  them,  for  she  thought 
they  were  alive;  but  of  course  they  did  not 
answer,  and  as  the  boat  drifted  nearer  to  the 
shore  she  saw  what  they  really  were. 

Then  Gerda  called  still  louder,  and  there  came 
a  very  old  woman  out  of  the  house,  leaning 
on  a  crutch.  She  wore  a  large  hat  to  shade  her 
from  the  sun,  and  on  it  were  painted  all  sorts  of 
pretty  flowers. 

"You  poor  little  child,"  said  the  old  woman, 
"how  did  you  manage  to  come  this  long,  long 

[210] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

distance  into  the  wide  world  on  such  a  rapid, 
rolling  stream?"  And  then  the  old  woman 
walked  into  the  water,  seized  the  boat  with  her 
crutch,  drew  it  to  land,  and  lifted  little  Gerda 
out.  And  Gerda  was  glad  to  feel  herself  again 
on  dry  ground,  although  she  was  rather  afraid 
of  the  strange  old  woman. 

"  Come  and  tell  me  who  you  are,"  said  she, 
"and  how  you  came  here." 

Then  Gerda  told  her  everything,  while  the  old 
woman  shook  her  head  and  said,  "Hem-hem";  and 
when  Gerda  had  finished  she  asked  the  old  woman 
if  she  had  not  seen  little  Kay.  She  told  her  he 
had  not  passed  that  way,  but  he  very  likely  would 
come.  She  told  Gerda  not  to  be  sorrowful,  but  to 
taste  the  cherries  and  look  at  the  flowers;  they 
were  better  than  any  picture  book,  for  each  of 
them  could  tell  a  story.  Then  she  took  Gerda 
by  the  hand,  and  led  her  into  the  little  house, 
and  closed  the  door.  The  windows  were  very 
high,  and  as  the  panes  were  red,  blue,  and  yel- 
low, the  daylight  shone  through  them  in  all  sorts 
of  singular  colors.  On  the  table  stood  some  beau- 
tiful cherries,  and  Gerda  had  permission  to  eat  as 

[211] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

many  as  she  would.  While  she  was  eating  them 
the  old  woman  combed  out  her  long  flaxen  ring- 
lets with  a  golden  comb,  and  the  glossy  curls  hung 
down  on  each  side  of  the  little  round,  pleasant 
face,  which  looked  fresh  and  blooming  as  a  rose. 

"  I  have  long  been  wishing  for  a  dear  little 
maiden  like  you,"  said  the  old  woman,  "  and  now 
you  must  stay  with  me  and  see  how  happily  we 
shall  live  together."  And  while  she  went  on 
combing  little  Gerda's  hair  the  child  thought  less 
and  less  about  her  adopted  brother  Kay,  for  the 
old  woman  was  an  enchantress,  although  she  was 
not  a  wicked  witch ;  she  conjured  only  a  little 
for  her  own  amusement,  and,  now,  because  she 
wanted  to  keep  Gerda.  Therefore  she  went  into 
the  garden  and  stretched  out  her  crutch  toward 
all  the  rose  trees,  beautiful  though  they  were,  and 
they  immediately  sank  into  the  dark  earth,  so 
that  no  one  could  tell  where  they  had  once  stood. 
The  old  woman  was  afraid  that  if  little  Gerda 
saw  roses,  she  would  think  of  those  at  home  and 
then  remember  little  Kay  and  run  away. 

Then  she  took  Gerda  into  the  flower  garden. 
How  fragrant  and  beautiful  it  was !  Every  flower 

[212} 


THE    SNOW   QUEEN 

that  could  be  thought  of,  for  every  season  of  the 
year,  was  here  in  full  bloom ;  no  picture  book  could 
have  more  beautiful  colors.  Gerda  jumped  for 
joy,  and  played  till  the  sun  went  down  behind 
the  tall  cherry  trees ;  then  she  slept  in  an  elegant 
bed,  with  red  silk  pillows  embroidered  with  col- 
ored violets,  and  she  dreamed  as  pleasantly  as 
a  queen  on  her  wedding  day. 

The  next  day,  and  for  many  days  after,  Gerda 
played  with  the  flowers  in  the  warm  sunshine. 
She  knew  every  flower,  and  yet,  although  there 
were  so  many  of  them,  it  seemed  as  if  one  were 
missing,  but  what  it  was  she  could  not  tell.  One 
day,  however,  as  she  sat  looking  at  the  old  woman's 
hat  with  the  painted  flowers  on  it,  she  saw  that 
the  prettiest  of  them  all  was  a  rose.  The  old 
woman  had  forgotten  to  take  it  from  her  hat 
when  she  made  all  the  roses  sink  into  the  earth. 
But  it  is  difficult  to  keep  the  thoughts  together 
in  everything,  and  one  little  mistake  upsets  all 
our  arrangements. 

"  What !  are  there  no  roses  here  ?  "  cried  Gerda, 
and  she  ran  out  into  the  garden  and  examined  all 
the  beds,  and  searched  and  searched.  There  was 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

not  one  to  be  found.  Then  she  sat  down  and 
wept,  and  her  tears  fell  just  on  the  place  where 
one  of  the  rose  trees  had  sunk  down.  The  warm 
tears  moistened  the  earth,  and  the  rose  tree 
sprouted  up  at  once,  as  blooming  as  when  it  had 
sunk ;  and  Gerda  embraced  it,  and  kissed  the 
roses,  and  thought  of  the  beautiful  roses  at  home, 
and,  with  them,  of  little  Kay. 

"  Oh,  how  I  have  been  detained !  "  said  the 
little  maiden.  "  I  wanted  to  seek  for  little  Kay. 
Do  you  know  where  he  is  ?  "  she  asked  the  roses ; 
"  do  you  think  he  is  dead  ?  " 

And  the  roses  answered :  "  No,  he  is  not  dead. 
We  have  been  in  the  ground,  where  all  the  dead 
lie,  but  Kay  is  not  there." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  little  Gerda,  and  then  she 
went  to  the  other  flowers  and  looked  into  their 
little  cups  and  asked,  "  Do  you  know  where 
little  Kay  is  ?  "  But  each  flower  as  it  stood  in 
the  sunshine  dreamed  only  of  its  own  little 
fairy  tale  or  history.  Not  one  knew  anything 
of  Kay.  Gerda  heard  many  stories  from  the 
flowers,  as  she  asked  them  one  after  another 
about  him. 

[214] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

And  then  she  ran  to  the  other  end  of  the  gar- 
den. The  door  was  fastened,  but  she  pressed 
against  the  rusty  latch,  and  it  gave  way.  The 
door  sprang  open,  and  little  Gerda  ran  out  with 
bare  feet  into  the  wide  world.  She  looked  back 
three  times,  but  no  one  seemed  to  be  following 
her.  At  last  she  could  run  no  longer,  so  she  sat 
down  to  rest  on  a  great  stone,  and  when  she 
looked  around  she  saw  that  the  summer  was 
over  and  autumn  very  far  advanced.  She  had 
known  nothing  of  this  in  the  beautiful  garden 
where  the  sun  shone  and  the  flowers  grew  all 
the  year  round. 

"  Oh,  how  I  have  wasted  my  time !  "  said  little 
Gerda.  "It  is  autumn;  I  must  not  rest  any 
longer,"  and  she  rose  to  go  on.  But  her  little 
feet  were  wounded  and  sore,  and  everything 
around  her  looked  cold  and  bleak.  The  long 
willow  leaves  were  quite  yellow,  the  dewdrops 
fell  like  water,  leaf  after  leaf  dropped  from 
the  trees ;  the  sloe  thorn  alone  still  bore  fruit, 
but  the  sloes  were  sour  and  set  the  teeth  on 
edge.  Oh,  how  dark  and  weary  the  whole  world 
appeared ! 

[215] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

FOURTH   STORY 
THE  PRINCE  AND  PRINCESS 

Gerda  was  obliged  to  rest  again,  and  just  oppo- 
site the  place  where  she  sat  she  saw  a  great  crow 
come  hopping  toward  her  across  the  snow.  He 
stood  looking  at  her  for  some  time,  and  then  he 
wagged  his  head  and  said,  "  Caw,  caw,  good  day, 
good  day."  He  pronounced  the  words  as  plainly 
as  he  could,  because  he  meant  to  be  kind  to  the 
little  girl,  and  then  he  asked  her  where  she  was 
going  all  alone  in  the  wide  world. 

The  word  "  alone  "  Gerda  understood  very  well 
and  felt  how  much  it  expressed.  So  she  told  the 
crow  the  whole  story  of  her  life  and  adventures 
and  asked  him  if  he  had  seen  little  Kay. 

The  crow  nodded  his  head  very  gravely  and 
said,  "  Perhaps  I  have  —  it  may  be." 

"  No !  Do  you  really  think  you  have  ?  "  cried 
little  Gerda,  and  she  kissed  the  crow  and  hugged 
him  almost  to  death,  with  joy. 

"  Gently,  gently,"  said  the  crow.  "  I  believe  I 
know.  I  think  it  may  be  little  Kay ;  but  he  has  cer- 
tainly forgotten  you  by  this  time,  for  the  princess." 

[216] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

"  Does  he  live  with  a  princess  ?  "  asked  Gerda. 

"  Yes,  listen,"  replied  the  crow ;  "  but  it  is  so 
difBcult  to  speak  your  language.  If  you  under- 
stand the  crows'  language,  then  I  can  explain  it 
better.  Do  you  ?  " 

"  No,  I  have  never  learned  it,"  said  Gerda,  "  but 
my  grandmother  understands  it,  and  used  to  speak 
it  to  me.  I  wish  I  had  learned  it." 

"  It  does  not  matter,"  answered  the  crow.  "  I  will 
explain  as  well  as  I  can,  although  it  will  be  very 
badly  done  "  ;  and  he  told  her  what  he  had  heard. 

"In  this  kingdom  where  we  now  are,"  said  he, 
"  there  lives  a  princess  who  is  so  wonderfully 
clever  that  she  has  read  all  the  newspapers  in 
the  world  —  and  forgotten  them  too,  although 
she  is  so  clever. 

"  A  short  time  ago,  as  she  was  sitting  on  her 
throne,  which  people  say  is  not  such  an  agreeable 
seat  as  is  often  supposed,  she  began  to  sing  a 
song  which  commences  with  these  words: 

Why  should  I  not  be  married  ? 

1  Why  not,  indeed  ? '  said  she,  and  so  she  deter- 
mined to  marry  if  she  could  find  a  husband  who 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

knew  what  to  say  when  he  was  spoken  to,  and 
not  one  who  could  only  look  grand,  for  that  was 
so  tiresome.  She  assembled  all  her  court  ladies 
at  the  beat  of  the  drum,  and  when  they  heard  of 
her  intentions  they  were  very  much  pleased. 

'  We  are  so  glad  to  hear  of  it,'  said  they. 
'  We  were  talking  about  it  ourselves  the  other 
day.' 

:'  You  may  believe  that  every  word  I  tell  you  is 
true,"  said  the  crow,  "  for  I  have  a  tame  sweet- 
heart who  hops  freely  about  the  palace,  and  she 
told  me  all  this." 

Of  course  his  sweetheart  was  a  crow,  for  "  birds 
of  a  feather  flock  together,"  and  one  crow  always 
chooses  another  crow. 

"  Newspapers  were  published  immediately  with 
a  border  of  hearts  and  the  initials  of  the  princess 
among  them.  They  gave  notice  that  every  young 
man  who  was  handsome  was  free  to  visit  the 
castle  and  speak  with  the  princess,  and  those 
who  could  reply  loud  enough  to  be  heard  when 
spoken  to  were  to  make  themselves  quite  at 
home  at  the  palace,  and  the  one  who  spoke  best 
would  be  chosen  as  a  husband  for  the  princess. 

[218] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

"  Yes,  yes,  you  may  believe  me.  It  is  all  as  true 
as  I  sit  here,"  said  the  crow. 

*  The  people  came  in  crowds.  There  was  a 
great  deal  of  crushing  and  running  about,  but  no 
one  succeeded  either  on  the  first  or  the  second 
day.  They  could  all  speak  very  well  while  they 
were  outside  in  the  streets,  but  when  they  entered 
the  palace  gates  and  saw  the  guards  in  silver  uni- 
forms and  the  footmen  in  their  golden  livery  on 
the  staircase  and  the  great  halls  lighted  up,  they 
became  quite  confused.  And  when  they  stood 
before  the  throne  on  which  the  princess  sat  they 
could  do  nothing  but  repeat  the  last  words  she 
had  said,  and  she  had  no  particular  wish  to  hear 
her  own  words  over  again.  It  was  just  as  if  they 
had  all  taken  something  to  make  them  sleepy  while 
they  were  in  the  palace,  for  they  did  not  recover 
themselves  nor  speak  till  they  got  back  again  into 
the  street.  There  was  a  long  procession  of  them, 
reaching  from  the  town  gate  to  the  palace. 

"  I  went  myself  to  see  them,"  said  the  crow. 
"  They  were  hungry  and  thirsty,  for  at  the  pal- 
ace they  did  not  even  get  a  glass  of  water.  Some 
of  the  wisest  had  taken  a  few  slices  of  bread  and 

[219] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

butter  with  them,  but  they  did  not  share  it  with 
their  neighbors ;  they  thought  if  the  others  went 
in  to  the  princess  looking  hungry,  there  would  be 
a  better  chance  for  themselves." 

"  But  Kay !  tell  me  about  little  Kay ! "  said 
Gerda.  "  Was  he  among  the  crowd  ?  " 

"Stop  a  bit;  we  are  just  coming  to  him.  It 
was  on  the  third  day  that  there  came  marching 
cheerfully  along  to  the  palace  a  little  personage 
without  horses  or  carriage,  his  eyes  sparkling  like 
yours.  He  had  beautiful  long  hair,  but  his  clothes 
were  very  poor." 

"  That  was  Kay,"  said  Gerda,  joyfully.  "  Oh,  then 
I  have  found  him ! "  and  she  clapped  her  hands. 

"He  had  a  little  knapsack  on  his  back,"  added 
the  crow. 

"  No,  it  must  have  been  his  sledge,"  said  Gerda, 
"  for  he  went  away  with  it." 

"It  may  have  been  so,"  said  the  crow ;  "  I  did 
not  look  at  it  very  closely.  But  I  know  from  my 
tame  sweetheart  that  he  passed  through  the  pal- 
ace gates,  saw  the  guards  in  their  silver  uniform 
and  the  servants  in  their  liveries  of  gold  on  the 
stairs,  but  was  not  in  the  least  embarrassed. 

[220] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

" '  It  must  be  very  tiresome  to  stand  on  the 
stairs,'  he  said.  '  I  prefer  to  go  in.' 

"The  rooms  were  blazing  with  light;  counci- 
lors and  ambassadors  walked  about  with  bare 
feet,  carrying  golden  vessels ;  it  was  enough  to 
make  any  one  feel  serious.  His  boots  creaked 
loudly  as  he  walked,  and  yet  he  was  not  at  all 
uneasy." 

"It  must  be  Kay,"  said  Gerda;  "I  know  he 
had  new  boots  on.  I  heard  them  creak  in  grand- 
mother's room." 

"  They  really  did  creak,"  said  the  crow,  "  yet 
he  went  boldly  up  to  the  princess  herself,  who  was 
sitting  on  a  pearl  as  large  as  a  spinning  wheel. 
And  all  the  ladies  of  the  court  were  present  with 
their  maids  and  all  the  cavaliers  with  their  ser- 
vants, and  each  of  the  maids  had  another  maid 
to  wait  upon  her,  and  the  cavaliers'  servants  had 
their  own  servants  as  well  as  each  a  page.  They 
all  stood  in  circles  round  the  princess,  and  the 
nearer  they  stood  to  the  door  the  prouder  they 
looked.  The  servants'  pages,  who  always  wore 
slippers,  could  hardly  be  looked  at,  they  held 
themselves  up  so  proudly  by  the  door." 

[221] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"  It  must  be  quite  awful,"  said  little  Gerda ; 
"  but  did  Kay  win  the  princess  ?  " 

"  If  I  had  not  been  a  crow,"  said  he,  "  I  would 
have  married  her  myself,  although  I  am  engaged. 
He  spoke  as  well  as  I  do  when  I  speak  the  crows' 
language.  I  heard  this  from  my  tame  sweetheart. 
He  was  quite  free  and  agreeable  and  said  he  had 
not  come  to  woo  the  princess,  but  to  hear  her 
wisdom.  And  he  was  as  pleased  with  her  as  she 
was  with  him." 

"  Oh,  certainly  that  was  Kay,"  said  Gerda ;  "  he 
was  so  clever;  he  could  work  mental  arithmetic  and 
fractions.  Oh,  will  you  take  me  to  the  palace  ? " 

"  It  is  very  easy  to  ask  that,"  replied  the  crow, 
"  but  how  are  we  to  manage  it  ?  However,  I  will 
speak  about  it  to  my  tame  sweetheart  and  ask 
her  advice,  for,  I  must  tell  you,  it  will  be  very 
difficult  to  gain  permission  for  a  little  girl  like 
you  to  enter  the  palace." 

"  Oh,  yes,  but  I  shall  gain  permission  easily," 
said  Gerda,  "for  when  Kay  hears  that  I  am  here 
he  will  come  out  and  fetch  me  in  immediately." 

"Wait  for  me  here  by  the  palings,"  said  the 
crow,  wagging  his  head  as  he  flew  away. 

[222] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

It  was  late  in  the  evening  before  the  crow  re- 
turned. "  Caw,  caw ! "  he  said ;  "she  sends  you  greet- 
ing, and  here  is  a  little  roll  which  she  took  from  the 
kitchen  for  you.  There  is  plenty  of  bread  there, 
and  she  thinks  you  must  be  hungry.  It  is  not  possi- 
ble for  you  to  enter  the  palace  by  the  front  entrance. 
The  guards  in  silver  uniform  and  the  servants  in 
gold  livery  would  not  allow  it.  But  do  not  cry ;  we 
will  manage  to  get  you  in.  My  sweetheart  knows 
a  little  back  staircase  that  leads  to  the  sleeping 
apartments,  and  she  knows  where  to  find  the  key." 

Then  they  went  into  the  garden,  through  the 
great  avenue,  where  the  leaves  were  falling  one 
after  another,  and  they  could  see  the  lights  in 
the  palace  being  put  out  in  the  same  manner. 
And  the  crow  led  little  Gerda  to  a  back  door 
which  stood  ajar.  Oh !  how  her  heart  beat  with 
anxiety  and  longing ;  it  was  as  if  she  were  going 
to  do  something  wrong,  and  yet  she  only  wanted 
to  know  where  little  Kay  was. 

"It  must  be  he,"  she  thought,  " with  those  clear 
eyes  and  that  long  hair." 

She  could  fancy  she  saw  him  smiling  at  her 
as  he  used  to  at  home  when  they  sat  among  the 

[233] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

roses.  He  would  certainly  be  glad  to  see  her, 
and  to  hear  what  a  long  distance  she  had  come 
for  his  sake,  and  to  know  how  sorry  they  had  all 
been  at  home  because  he  did  not  come  back.  Oh, 
what  joy  and  yet  what  fear  she  felt ! 

They  were  now  on  the  stairs,  and  in  a  small 
closet  at  the  top  a  lamp  was  burning.  In  the 
middle  of  the  floor  stood  the  tame  crow,  turning 
her  head  from  side  to  side  and  gazing  at  Gerda,  who 
curtsied  as  her  grandmother  had  taught  her  to  do. 

"  My  betrothed  has  spoken  so  very  highly  of 
you,  my  little  lady,"  said  the  tame  crow.  "  Your 
story  is  very  touching.  If  you  will  take  the  lamp, 
I  will  walk  before  you.  We  will  go  straight  along 
this  way ;  then  we  shall  meet  no  one." 

"  I  feel  as  if  somebody  were  behind  us,"  said 
Gerda,  as  something  rushed  by  her  like  a  shadow 
on  the  wall ;  and  then  it  seemed  to  her  that 
horses  with  flying  manes  and  thin  legs,  hunters, 
ladies  and  gentlemen  on  horseback,  glided  by 
her  like  shadows. 

"  They  are  only  dreams,"  said  the  crow ;  "  they 
are  coming  to  carry  the  thoughts  of  the  great 
people  out  hunting.  AJ1  the  better,  for  if  their 

[224] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

thoughts  are  out  hunting,  we  shall  be  able  to 
look  at  them  in  their  beds  more  safely.  I  hope 
that  when  you  rise  to  honor  and  favor  you  will 
show  a  grateful  heart." 

"  You  may  be  quite  sure  of  that,"  said  the  crow 
from  the  forest. 

They  now  came  into  the  first  hall,  the  walls 
of  which  were  hung  with  rose-colored  satin  em- 
broidered with  artificial  flowers.  Here  the  dreams 
again  flitted  by  them,  but  so  quickly  that  Gerda 
could  not  distinguish  the  royal  persons.  Each 
hall  appeared  more  splendid  than  the  last.  It 
was  enough  to  bewilder  one.  At  length  they 
reached  a  bedroom.  The  ceiling  was  like  a  great 
palm  tree,  with  glass  leaves  of  the  most  costly 
crystal,  and  over  the  center  of  the  floor  two  beds, 
each  resembling  a  lily,  hung  from  a  stem  of  gold. 
One,  in  which  the  princess  lay,  was  white ;  the 
other  was  red.  And  in  this  Gerda  had  to  seek 
for  little  Kay. 

She  pushed  cine  of  the  red  leaves  aside  and 
saw  a  little  brown  neck.  Oh,  that  must  be  Kay ! 
She  called  his  name  loudly  and  held  the  lamp 
over  him.  The  dreams  rushed  back  into  the  room 

[225] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

on  horseback.  He  woke  and  turned  his  head 
round  —  it  was  not  little  Kay !  The  prince  was 
only  like  him ;  still  he  was  young  and  pretty. 
Out  of  her  white-lily  bed  peeped  the  princess, 
and  asked  what  was  the  matter.  Little  Gerda 
wept  and  told  her  story,  and  all  that  the  crows 
had  done  to  help  her. 

;<  You  poor  child,"  said  the  prince  and  prin- 
cess; then  they  praised  the  crows,  and  said  they 
were  not  angry  with  them  for  what  they  had 
done,  but  that  it  must  not  happen  again,  and 
that  this  time  they  should  be  rewarded. 

"  Would  you  like  to  have  your  freedom  ? " 
asked  the  princess,  "  or  would  you  prefer  to  be 
raised  to  the  position  of  court  crows,  with  all 
that  is  left  in  the  kitchen  for  yourselves  ?  " 

Then  both  the  crows  bowed  and  begged  to  have 
a  fixed  appointment ;  for  they  thought  of  their  old 
age,  and  it  would  be  so  comfortable,  they  said, 
to  feel  that  they  had  made  provision  for  it. 

And  then  the  prince  got  out  of  his  bed  and 
gave  it  up  to  Gerda  —  he  could  not  do  more  — 
and  she  lay  down.  She  folded  her  little  hands 
and  thought,  "  How  good  everybody  is  to  me, 

[226] 


he  pHnce  &>nd  princess  themselves 
helped  her  mto  the 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

both  men  and  animals";  then  she  closed  her  eyes 
and  fell  into  a  sweet  sleep.  All  the  dreams  came 
flying  back  again  to  her,  looking  like  angels  now, 
and  one  of  them  drew  a  little  sledge,  on  which 
sat  Kay,  who  nodded  to  her.  But  all  this  was  only 
a  dream.  It  vanished  as  soon  as  she  awoke. 

The  following  day  she  was  dressed  from  head 
to  foot  in  silk  and  velvet  and  invited  to  stay  at 
the  palace  for  a  few  days  and  enjoy  herself;  but 
she  only  begged  for  a  pair  of  boots  and  a  little 
carriage  and  a  horse  to  draw  it,  so  that  she  might 
go  out  into  the  wide  world  to  seek  for  Kay. 

And  she  obtained  not  only  boots  but  a  muff, 
and  was  neatly  dressed ;  and  when  she  was  ready 
to  go,  there  at  the  door  she  found  a  coach  made 
of  pure  gold  with  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  prince 
and  princess  shining  upon  it  like  a  star,  and  the 
coachman,  footman,  and  outriders  all  wearing 
golden  crowns  upon  their  heads.  The  prince  and 
princess  themselves  helped  her  into  the  coach 
and  wished  her  success. 

The  forest  crow,  who  was  now  married,  ac- 
companied her  for  the  first  three  miles;  he  sat 
by  Gerda's  side,  as  he  could  not  bear  riding 

[228] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

backwards.  The  tame  crow  stood  in  the  doorway 
flapping  her  wings.  She  could  not  go  with  them, 
because  she  had  been  suffering  from  headache 
ever  since  the  new  appointment,  no  doubt  from 
overeating.  The  coach  was  well  stored  with  sweet 
cakes,  and  under  the  seat  were  fruit  and  ginger- 
bread nuts. 

"  Farewell,  farewell,"  cried  the  prince  and  prin- 
cess, and  little  Gerda  wept,  and  the  crow  wept; 
and  then,  after  a  few  miles,  the  crow  also  said 
farewell,  and  this  parting  was  even  more  sad. 
However  he  flew  to  a  tree  and  stood  flapping  his 
black  wings  as  long  as  he  could  see  the  coach, 
which  glittered  like  a  sunbeam. 

FIFTH   STORY 
THE  LITTLE  ROBBER  GIRL 

The  coach  drove  on  through  a  thick  forest, 
where  it  lighted  up  the  way  like  a  torch  and 
dazzled  the  eyes  of  some  robbers,  who  could  not 
bear  to  let  it  pass  them  unmolested. 

"It  is  gold !  it  is  gold !  "  cried  they,  rushing 
forward  and  seizing  the  horses.  Then  they  struck 

[229] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

dead  the  little  jockeys,  the  coachman,  and  the 
footman,  and  pulled  little  Gerda  out  of  the 
carriage. 

"  She  is  plump  and  pretty.  She  has  been  fed 
with  the  kernels  of  nuts,"  said  the  old  robber 
woman,  who  had  a  long  beard,  and  eyebrows  that 
hung  over  her  eyes.  "  She  is  as  good  as  a  fatted 
lamb ;  how  nice  she  will  taste !  "  and  as  she  said 
this  she  drew  forth  a  shining  knife,  that  glittered 
horribly.  "  Oh !  "  screamed  the  old  woman  at  the 
same  moment,  for  her  own  daughter,  who  held 
her  back,  had  bitten  her  in  the  ear.  '  You  naughty 
girl,"  said  the  mother,  and  now  she  had  not  time 
to  kill  Gerda. 

"  She  shall  play  with  me,"  said  the  little  robber 
girl.  "  She  shall  give  me  her  muff  and  her  pretty 
dress,  and  sleep  with  me  in  my  bed."  And  then 
she  bit  her  mother  again,  and  all  the  robbers 
laughed. 

"  I  will  have  a  ride  in  the  coach,"  said  the  little 
robber  girl,  and  she  would  have  her  own  way,  for 
she  was  self-willed  and  obstinate. 

She  and  Gerda  seated  themselves  in  the  coach 
and  drove  away  over  stumps  and  stones,  into  the 

[230] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

depths  of  the  forest.  The  little  robber  girl  was 
about  the  same  size  as  Gerda,  but  stronger;  she 
had  broader  shoulders  and  a  darker  skin ;  her 
eyes  were  quite  black,  and  she  had  a  mournful 
look.  She  clasped  little  Gerda  round  the  waist 
and  said : 

:'  They  shall  not  kill  you  as  long  as  you  don't 
make  me  vexed  with  you.  I  suppose  you  are  a 
princess." 

"  No,"  said  Gerda ;  and  then  she  told  her  all 
her  history  and  how  fond  she  was  of  little  Kay. 

The  robber  girl  looked  earnestly  at  her,  nodded 
her  head  slightly,  and  said,  "  They  shan't  kill 
you  even  if  I  do  get  angry  with  you,  for  I  will 
do  it  myself."  And  then  she  wiped  Gerda's  eyes 
and  put  her  own  hands  into  the  beautiful  muff, 
which  was  so  soft  and  warm. 

The  coach  stopped  in  the  courtyard  of  a  rob- 
ber's castle,  the  walls  of  which  were  full  of  cracks 
from  top  to  bottom.  Ravens  and  crows  flew  in 
and  out  of  the  holes  and  crevices,  while  great  bull- 
dogs, each  of  which  looked  as  if  it  could  swallow 
a  man,  were  jumping  about;  but  they  were  not 
allowed  to  bark. 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

In  the  large  old  smoky  hall  a  bright  fire  was 
burning  on  the  stone  floor.  There  was  no  chim- 
ney, so  the  smoke  went  up  to  the  ceiling  and 
found  a  way  out  for  itself.  Soup  was  boiling  in 
a  large  cauldron,  and  hares  and  rabbits  were 
roasting  on  the  spit. 

"  You  shall  sleep  with  me  and  all  my  little 
animals  to-night,"  said  the  robber  girl  after  they 
had  had  something  to  eat  and  drink.  So  she  took 
Gerda  to  a  corner  of  the  hall  where  some  straw 
and  carpets  were  laid  down.  Above  them,  on 
laths  and  perches,  were  more  than  a  hundred 
pigeons  that  all  seemed  to  be  asleep,  although 
they  moved  slightly  when  the  two  little  girls 
came  near  them.  "  These  all  belong  to  me,"  said 
the  robber  girl,  and  she  seized  the  nearest  to  her, 
held  it  by  the  feet,  and  shook  it  till  it  flapped  its 
wings.  "  Kiss  it,"  cried  she,  flapping  it  in  Gerda's 
face. 

"There  sit  the  wood  pigeons,"  continued  she, 
pointing  to  a  number  of  laths  and  a  cage  which 
had  been  fixed  into  the  walls,  near  one  of  the 
openings.  "  Both  rascals  would  fly  away  directly, 
if  they  were  not  closely  locked  up.  And  here  is 

[232] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

my  old  sweetheart  '  Ba,' "  and  she  dragged  out  a 
reindeer  by  the  horn ;  he  wore  a  bright  copper 
ring  round  his  neck  and  was  tethered  to  the  spot. 
"We  are  obliged  to  hold  him  tight  too,  else  he 
would  run  away  from  us  also.  I  tickle  his  neck 
every  evening  with  my  sharp  knife,  which  frightens 
him  very  much."  And  the  robber  girl  drew  a  long 
knife  from  a  chink  in  the  wall  and  let  it  slide 
gently  over  the  reindeer's  neck.  The  poor  animal 
began  to  kick,  and  the  little  robber  girl  laughed 
and  pulled  down  Gerda  into  bed  with  her. 

"  Will  you  have  that  knife  with  you  while  you 
are  asleep  ? "  asked  Gerda,  looking  at  it  in  great 
fright. 

"  I  always  sleep  with  the  knife  by  me,"  said  the 
robber  girl.  ^No  one  knows  what  may  happen. 
But  now  tell  me  again  all  about  little  Kay,  and 
why  you  went  out  into  the  world." 

Then  Gerda  repeated  her  story  over  again,  while 
the  wood  pigeons  in  the  cage  over  her  cooed,  and 
the  other  pigeons  slept.  The  little  robber  girl 
put  one  arm  across  Gerda's  neck,  and  held  the 
knife  in  the  other,  and  was  soon  fast  asleep  and 
snoring.  But  Gerda  could  not  close  her  eyes  at 

[233] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

all ;  she  knew  not  whether  she  was  to  live  or  to  die. 
The  robbers  sat  round  the  fire,  singing  and  drink- 
ing. It  was  a  terrible  sight  for  a  little  girl  to  witness. 

Then  the  wood  pigeons  said  :  "  Coo,  coo,  we  have 
seen  little  Kay.  A  white  fowl  carried  his  sledge, 
and  he  sat  in  the  carriage  of  the  Snow  Queen, 
which  drove  through  the  wood  while  we  were 
lying  in  our  nest.  She  blew  upon  us,  and  all  the 
young  ones  died,  excepting  us  two.  Coo,  coo." 

"  What  are  you  saying  up  there  ? "  cried  Gerda. 
"  Where  was  the  Snow  Queen  going  ?  Do  you 
know  anything  about  it  ? " 

"  She  was  most  likely  traveling  to  Lapland, 
where  there  is  always  snow  and  ice.  Ask  the 
reindeer  that  is  fastened  up  there  with  a  rope." 

"  Yes,  there  is  always  snow  and  ice,"  said  the 
reindeer,  "  and  it  is  a  glorious  place ;  you  can  leap 
and  run  about  freely  on  the  sparkling  icy  plains. 
The  Snow  Queen  has  her  summer  tent  there,  but 
her  strong  castle  is  at  the  North  Pole,  on  an 
island  called  Spitzbergen." 

"  O  Kay,  little  Kay ! "  sighed  Gerda. 

"  Lie  still,"  said  the  robber  girl,  "  or  you  shall 
feel  my  knife." 

[234] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

In  the  morning  Gerda  told  her  all  that  the 
wood  pigeons  had  said,  and  the  little  robber  girl 
looked  quite  serious,  and  nodded  her  head  and 
said:  "That  is  all  talk,  that  is  all  talk.  Do  you 
know  where  Lapland  is  ?  "  she  asked  the  reindeer. 

"  Who  should  know  better  than  I  do  ?  "  said 
the  animal,  while  his  eyes  sparkled.  "  I  was  born 
and  brought  up  there  and  used  to  run  about 
the  snow-covered  plains." 

"  Now  listen,"  said  the  robber  girl ;  "  all  our  men 
are  gone  away ;  only  mother  is  here,  and  here  she 
will  stay ;  but  at  noon  she  always  drinks  out  of  a 
great  bottle,  and  afterwards  sleeps  for  a  little  while; 
and  then  I  '11  do  something  for  you."  She  jumped 
out  of  bed,  clasped  her  mother  round  the  neck, 
and  pulled  her  by  the  beard,  crying,  "  My  own 
little  nanny  goat,  good  morning ! "  And  her  mother 
pinched  her  nose  till  it  was  quite  red ;  yet  she  did 
it  all  for  love. 

When  the  mother  had  gone  to  sleep  the  little 
robber  maiden  went  to  the  reindeer  and  said :  "  I 
should  like  very  much  to  tickle  your  neck  a  few 
times  more  with  my  knife,  for  it  makes  you  look 
so  funny,  but  never  mind  —  I  will  untie  your 

[235] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

cord  and  set  you  free,  so  that  you  may  run  away 
to  Lapland ;  but  you  must  make  good  use  of  your 
legs  and  carry  this  little  maiden  to  the  castle  of 
the  Snow  Queen,  where  her  playfellow  is.  You 
have  heard  what  she  told  me,  for  she  spoke  loud 
enough,  and  you  were  listening." 

The  reindeer  jumped  for  joy,  and  the  little 
robber  girl  lifted  Gerda  on  his  back  and  had  the 
forethought  to  tie  her  on  and  even  to  give  her 
her  own  little  cushion  to  sit  upon. 

"  Here  are  your  fur  boots  for  you,"  said  she, 
"for  it  will  be  very  cold;  but  I  must  keep  the 
muff,  it  is  so  pretty.  However,  you  shall  not  be 
frozen  for  the  want  of  it ;  here  are  my  mother's 
large  warm  mittens ;  they  will  reach  up  to  your 
elbows.  Let  me  put  them  on.  There,  now  your 
hands  look  just  like  my  mother's." 

But  Gerda  wept  for  joy. 

"  I  don't  like  to  see  you  fret,"  said  the  little 
robber  girl.  "You  ought  to  look  quite  happy 
now.  And  here  are  two  loaves  and  a  ham,  so 
that  you  need  not  starve." 

These  were  fastened  upon  the  reindeer,  and 
then  the  little  robber  maiden  opened  the  door, 

[236] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

coaxed  in  all  the  great  dogs,  cut  the  string  with 
which  the  reindeer  was  fastened,  with  her  sharp 
knife,  and  said,  "  Now  run,  but  mind  you  take 
good  care  of  the  little  girl."  And  Gerda  stretched 
out  her  hand,  with  the  great  mitten  on  it,  toward 
the  little  robber  girl  and  said  "  Farewell,"  and 
away  flew  the  reindeer  over  stumps  and  stones, 
through  the  great  forest,  over  marshes  and  plains, 
as  quickly  as  he  could.  The  wolves  howled  and 
the  ravens  screamed,  while  up  in  the  sky  quivered 
red  lights  like  flames  of  fire.  "  There  are  my  old 
northern  lights,"  said  the  reindeer;  "see  how  they 
flash !  "  And  he  ran  on  day  and  night  still  faster 
and  faster,  but  the  loaves  and  the  ham  were  all 
eaten  by  the  time  they  reached  Lapland. 

SIXTH   STORY 

THE  LAPLAND  WOMAN  AND  THE  FINLAND 
WOMAN 

They  stopped  at  a  little  hut ;  it  was  very  mean 
looking.  The  roof  sloped  nearly  down  to  the 
ground,  and  the  door  was  so  low  that  the  family 
had  to  creep  in  on  their  hands  and  knees  when 

[237] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

they  went  in  and  out.  There  was  no  one  at  home 
but  an  old  Lapland  woman  who  was  dressing  fish 
by  the  light  of  a  train-oil  lamp. 

The  reindeer  told  her  all  about  Gerda's  story 
after  having  first  told  his  own,  which  seemed  to  him 
the  most  important.  But  Gerda  was  so  pinched 
with  the  cold  that  she  could  not  speak. 

"  Oh,  you  poor  things,"  said  the  Lapland  woman, 
"  you  have  a  long  way  to  go  yet.  You  must  travel 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  farther,  to  Finland. 
The  Snow  Queen  lives  there  now,  and  she  burns 
Bengal  lights  every  evening.  I  will  write  a  few 
words  on  a  dried  stockfish,  for  I  have  no  paper, 
and  you  can  take  it  from  me  to  the  Finland 
woman  who  lives  there.  She  can  give  you  better 
information  than  I  can." 

So  when  Gerda  was  warmed  and  had  taken 
something  to  eat  and  drink,  the  woman  wrote  a 
few  words  on  the  dried  fish  and  told  Gerda  to  take 
great  care  of  it.  Then  she  tied  her  again  on  the 
back  of  the  reindeer,  and  he  sprang  high  into 
the  air  and  set  off  at  full  speed.  Flash,  flash, 
went  the  beautiful  blue  northern  lights  the  whole 
night  long. 

[238] 


THE    SNOW   QUEEN 

And  at  length  they  reached  Finland  and 
knocked  at  the  chimney  of  the  Finland  woman's 
hut,  for  it  had  no  door  above  the  ground.  They 
crept  in,  but  it  was  so  terribly  hot  inside  that  the 
woman  wore  scarcely  any  clothes.  She  was  small 
and  very  dirty  looking.  She  loosened  little  Gerda's 
dress  and  took  off  the  fur  boots  and  the  mittens, 
or  Gerda  would  have  been  unable  to  bear  the  heat ; 
and  then  she  placed  a  piece  of  ice  on  the  rein- 
deer's head  and  read  what  was  written  on  the 
dried  fish.  After  she  had  read  it  three  times  she 
knew  it  by  heart,  so  she  popped  the  fish  into  the 
soup  saucepan,  as  she  knew  it  was  good  to  eat, 
and  she  never  wasted  anything. 

The  reindeer  told  his  own  story  first  and  then 
little  Gerda's,  and  the  Finlander  twinkled  with 
her  clever  eyes,  but  said  nothing. 

"  You  are  so  clever,"  said  the  reindeer ;  "  I  know 
you  can  tie  all  the  winds  of  the  world  with  a  piece 
of  twine.  If  a  sailor  unties  one  knot,  he  has  a  fair 
wind;  when  he  unties  the  second,  it  blows  hard; 
but  if  the  third  and  fourth  are  loosened,  then 
comes  a  storm  which  will  root  up  whole  forests. 
Cannot  you  give  this  little  maiden  something 

[239] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

which  will  make  her  as  strong  as  twelve  men,  to 
overcome  the  Snow  Queen  ?  " 

"  The  power  of  twelve  men !  "  said  the  Finland 
woman.  "  That  would  be  of  very  little  use."  But 
she  went  to  a  shelf  and  took  down  and  unrolled 
a  large  skin  on  which  were  inscribed  wonderful 
characters,  and  she  read  till  the  perspiration  ran 
down  from  her  forehead. 

But  the  reindeer  begged  so  hard  for  little  Gerda, 
and  Gerda  looked  at  the  Finland  woman  with  such 
tender,  tearful  eyes,  that  her  own  eyes  began  to 
twinkle  again.  She  drew  the  reindeer  into  a  corner 
and  whispered  to  him  while  she  laid  a  fresh  piece 
of  ice  on  his  head :  "  Little  Kay  is  really  with  the 
Snow  Queen,  but  he  finds  everything  there  so 
much  to  his  taste  and  his  liking  that  he  believes 
it  is  the  finest  place  in  the  world ;  and  this  is  be- 
cause he  has  a  piece  of  broken  glass  in  his  heart 
and  a  little  splinter  of  glass  in  his  eye.  These 
must  be  taken  out,  or  he  will  never  be  a  human 
being  again,  and  the  Snow  Queen  will  retain  her 
power  over  him." 

"  But  can  you  not  give  little  Gerda  something 
to  help  her  to  conquer  this  power  ? " 

[240] 


THE    SNOW  QUEEN 

11 1  can  give  her  no  greater  power  than  she  has 
already,"  said  the  woman;  "don't  you  see  how 
strong  that  is  ?  how  men  and  animals  are  obliged 
to  serve  her,  and  how  well  she  has  gotten  through 
the  world,  barefooted  as  she  is?  She  cannot  re- 
ceive any  power  from  me  greater  than  she  now  has, 
which  consists  in  her  own  purity  and  innocence 
of  heart.  If  she  cannot  herself  obtain  access  to 
the  Snow  Queen  and  remove  the  glass  fragments 
from  little  Kay,  we  can  do  nothing  to  help  her. 
Two  miles  from  here  the  Snow  Queen's  garden 
begins.  You  can  carry  the  little  girl  so  far,  and 
set  her  down  by  the  large  bush  which  stands  in 
the  snow,  covered  with  red  berries.  Do  not  stay 
gossiping,  but  come  back  here  as  quickly  as  you 
can."  Then  the  Finland  woman  lifted  little  Gerda 
upon  the  reindeer,  and  he  ran  away  with  her  as 
quickly  as  he  could. 

"  Oh,  I  have  forgotten  my  boots  and  my  mit- 
tens," cried  little  Gerda,  as  soon  as  she  felt  the 
cutting  cold ;  but  the  reindeer  dared  not  stop,  so 
he  ran  on  till  he  reached  the  bush  with  the  red 
berries.  Here  he  set  Gerda  down,  and  he  kissed 
her,  and  the  great  bright  tears  trickled  over  the 

[241] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

animal's  cheeks ;  then  he  left  her  and  ran  back 
as  fast  as  he  could. 

There  stood  poor  Gerda,  without  shoes,  with- 
out gloves,  in  the  midst  of  cold,  dreary,  ice-bound 
Finland.  She  ran  forward  as  quickly  as  she 
could,  when  a  whole  regiment  of  snowflakes  came 
round  her.  They  did  not,  however,  fall  from  the 
sky,  which  was  quite  clear  and  glittered  with 
the  northern  lights.  The  snowflakes  ran  along 
the  ground,  and  the  nearer  they  came  to  her  the 
larger  they  appeared.  Gerda  remembered  how 
large  and  beautiful  they  looked  through  the  burn- 
ing glass.  But  these  were  really  larger  and  much 
more  terrible,  for  they  were  alive  and  were  the 
guards  of  the  Snow  Queen  and  had  the  strangest 
shapes.  Some  were  like  great  porcupines,  others 
like  twisted  serpents  with  their  heads  stretching 
out,  and  some  few  were  like  little  fat  bears  with 
their  hair  bristled;  but  all  were  dazzlingly  white, 
and  all  were  living  snowflakes. 

Little  Gerda  repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and 
the  cold  was  so  great  that  she  could  see  her 
own  breath  come  out  of  her  mouth  like  steam, 
as  she  uttered  the  words.  The  steam  appeared  to 

[242] 


THE    SNOW    QUEEN 

increase  as  she  continued  her  prayer,  till  it  took 
the  shape  of  little  angels,  who  grew  larger  the 
moment  they  touched  the  earth.  They  all  wore 
helmets  on  their  heads  and  carried  spears  and 
shields.  Their  number  continued  to  increase  more 
and  more,  and  by  the  time  Gerda  had  finished 
her  prayers  a  whole  legion  stood  round  her.  They 
thrust  their  spears  into  the  terrible  snowflakes 
so  that  they  shivered  into  a  hundred  pieces,  and 
little  Gerda  could  go  forward  with  courage  and 
safety.  The  angels  stroked  her  hands  and  feet, 
so  that  she  felt  the  cold  less  as  she  hastened  on 
to  the  Snow  Queen's  castle. 

But  now  we  must  see  what  Kay  is  doing.  In 
truth  he  thought  not  of  little  Gerda,  and  least 
of  all  that  she  could  be  standing  at  the  front  of 
the  palace. 

SEVENTH  STORY 

OF  THE  PALACE  OF  THE  SNOW  QUEEN  AND 
WHAT  HAPPENED  THERE  AT  LAST 

The  walls  of  the  palace  were  formed  of  drifted 
snow,  and  the  windows  and  doors  of  cutting 
winds.  There  were  more  than  a  hundred  rooms 

[243] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

in  it,  all  as  if  they  had  been  formed  of  snow 
blown  together.  The  largest  of  them  extended 
for  several  miles.  They  were  all  lighted  up  by 
the  vivid  light  of  the  aurora,  and  were  so  large 
and  empty,  so  icy  cold  and  glittering! 

There  were  no  amusements  here ;  not  even  a 
little  bear's  ball,  when  the  storm  might  have  been 
the  music,  and  the  bears  could  have  danced  on 
their  hind  legs  and  shown  their  good  manners. 
There  were  no  pleasant  games  of  snapdragon,  or 
touch,  nor  even  a  gossip  over  the  tea  table  for 
the  young-lady  foxes.  Empty,  vast,  and  cold  were 
the  halls  of  the  Snow  Queen. 

The  flickering  flames  of  the  northern  lights 
could  be  plainly  seen,  whether  they  rose  high  or 
low  in  the  heavens,  from  every  part  of  the  castle. 
In  the  midst  of  this  empty,  endless  hall  of  snow 
was  a  frozen  lake,  broken  on  its  surface  into  a 
thousand  forms ;  each  piece  resembled  another, 
because  each  was  in  itself  perfect  as  a  work  of 
art,  and  in  the  center  of  this  lake  sat  the  Snow 
Queen  when  she  was  at  home.  She  called  the 
lake  "The  Mirror  of  Reason,"  and  said  that  it  was 
the  best,  and  indeed  the  only  one,  in  the  world. 

[244]     • 


n  the  center*  of  the 

the  -Srxwr  C^ueen 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

Little  Kay  was  quite  blue  with  cold, —  indeed, 
almost  black, —  but  he  did  not  feel  it ;  for  the  Snow 
Queen  had  kissed  away  the  icy  shiverings,  and 
his  heart  was  already  a  lump  of  ice.  He  dragged 
some  sharp,  flat  pieces  of  ice  to  and  fro  and 
placed  them  together  in  all  kinds  of  positions,  as 
if  he  wished  to  make  something  out  of  them  —  just 
as  we  try  to  form  various  figures  with  little  tablets 
of  wood,  which  we  call  a  "  Chinese  puzzle."  Kay's 
figures  were  very  artistic ;  it  was  the  icy  game  of 
reason  at  which  he  played,  and  in  his  eyes  the 
figures  were  very  remarkable  and  of  the  highest 
importance ;  this  opinion  was  owing  to  the  splin- 
ter of  glass  still  sticking  in  his  eye.  He  com- 
posed many  complete  figures,  forming  different 
words,  but  there  was  one  word  he  never  could 
manage  to  form,  although  he  wished  it  very 
much.  It  was  the  word  "  Eternity." 

The  Snow  Queen  had'  said  to  him,  "  When  you 
can  find  out  this,  you  shall  be  your  own  master, 
and  I  will  give  you  the  whole  world  and  a  new 
pair  of  skates."  But  he  could  not  accomplish  it. 

"  Now  I  must  hasten  away  to  warmer  coun- 
tries," said  the  Snow  Queen.  "  I  will  go  and  look 

[246] 


THE    SNOW   QUEEN 

into  the  black  craters  of  the  tops  of  the  burning 
mountains,  Etna  and  Vesuvius,  as  they  are  called. 
I  shall  make  them  look  white,  which  will  be  good 
for  them  and  for  the  lemons  and  the  grapes." 
And  away  flew  the  Snow  Queen,  leaving  little 
Kay  quite  alone  in  the  great  hall  which  was  so 
many  miles  in  length.  He  sat  and  looked  at  his 
pieces  of  ice  and  was  thinking  so  deeply  and  sat 
so  still  that  any  one  might  have  supposed  he 
was  frozen. 

Just  at  this  moment  it  happened  that  little 
Gerda  came  through  the  great  door  of  the  castle. 
Cutting  winds  were  raging  around  her,  but  she 
offered  up  a  prayer,  and  the  winds  sank  down 
as  if  they  were  going  to  sleep.  On  she  went  till 
she  came  to  the  large,  empty  hall  and  caught 
sight  of  Kay.  She  knew  him  directly;  she  flew 
to  him  and  threw  her  arms  around  his  neck  and 
held  him  fast  while  she  exclaimed,  "  Kay,  dear 
little  Kay,  I  have  found  you  at  last ! " 

But  he  sat  quite  still,  stiff  and  cold. 

Then  little  Gerda  wept  hot  tears,  which  fell 
on  his  breast,  and  penetrated  into  his  heart,  and 
thawed  the  lump  of  ice,  and  washed  away  the  little 

[247] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

piece  of  glass  which  had  stuck  there.   Then  he 
looked  at  her,  and  she  sang : 

"  Roses  bloom  and  fade  away, 
But  we  the  Christ-child  see  alway." 

Then  Kay  burst  into  tears.  He  wept  so  that 
the  splinter  of  glass  swam  out  of  his  eye.  Then 
he  recognized  Gerda  and  said  joyfully,  "  Gerda, 
dear  little  Gerda,  where  have  you  been  all  this 
time,  and  where  have  I  been  ? "  And  he  looked 
all  around  him  and  said,  "  How  cold  it  is,  and 
how  large  and  empty  it  all  looks,"  and  he  clung 
to  Gerda,  and  she  laughed  and  wept  for  joy. 

It  was  so  pleasing  to  see  them  that  even  the 
pieces  of  ice  danced,  and  when  they  were  tired 
and  went  to  lie  down  they  formed  themselves 
into  the  letters  of  the  word  which  the  Snow  Queen 
had  said  he  must  find  out  before  he  could  be  his 
own  master  and  have  the  whole  world  and  a  pair 
of  new  skates. 

Gerda  kissed  his  cheeks,  and  they  became 
blooming ;  and  she  kissed  his  eyes  till  they  shone 
like  her  own ;  she  kissed  his  hands  and  feet,  and 
he  became  quite  healthy  and  cheerful.  The  Snow 

[248] 


THE    SNOW   QUEEN 

Queen  might  come  home  now  when  she  pleased, 
for  there  stood  his  certainty  of  freedom,  in  the 
word  she  wanted,  written  in  shining  letters  of  ice. 

Then  they  took  each  other  by  the  hand  and 
went  forth  from  the  great  palace  of  ice.  They 
spoke  of  the  grandmother  and  of  the  roses  on  the 
roof,  and  as  they  went  on  the  winds  were  at  rest, 
and  the  sun  burst  forth.  When  they  arrived  at 
the  bush  with  red  berries,  there  stood  the  reindeer 
waiting  for  them,  and  he  had  brought  another 
young  reindeer  with  him,  whose  udders  were  full, 
and  the  children  drank  her  warm  milk  and  kissed 
her  on  the  mouth. 

They  carried  Kay  and  Gerda  first  to  the  Fin- 
land woman,  where  they  warmed  themselves  thor- 
oughly in  the  hot  room  and  had  directions  about 
their  journey  home.  Next  they  went  to  the  Lap- 
land woman,  who  had  made  some  new  clothes  for 
them  and  put  their  sleighs  in  order.  Both  the 
reindeer  ran  by  their  side  and  followed  them  as 
far  as  the  boundaries  of  the  country,  where  the 
first  green  leaves  were  budding.  And  here  they 
took  leave  of  the  two  reindeer  and  the  Lapland 
woman,  and  all  said  farewell. 

[249] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

Then  birds  began  to  twitter,  and  the  forest 
too  was  full  of  green  young  leaves,  and  out  of 
it  came  a  beautiful  horse,  which  Gerda  remem- 
bered, for  it  was  one  which  had  drawn  the  golden 
coach.  A  young  girl  was  riding  upon  it,  with  a 
shining  red  cap  on  her  head  and  pistols  in  her 
belt.  It  was  the  little  robber  maiden,  who  had 
got  tired  of  staying  at  home ;  she  was  going  first 
to  the  north,  and  if  that  did  not  suit  her,  she 
meant  to  try  some  other  part  of  the  world.  She 
knew  Gerda  directly,  and  Gerda  remembered  her ; 
it  was  a  joyful  meeting. 

"  You  are  a  fine  fellow  to  go  gadding  about  in 
this  way,"  said  she  to  little  Kay.  "  I  should  like 
to  know  whether  you  deserve  that  any  one  should 
go  to  the  end  of  the  world  to  find  you." 

But  Gerda  patted  her  cheeks  and  asked  after 
the  prince  and  princess. 

:'  They  are  gone  to  foreign  countries,"  said  the 
robber  girl. 

"  And  the  crow  ?  "  asked  Gerda. 

"  Oh,  the  crow  is  dead,"  she  replied.  "  His  tame 
sweetheart  is  now  a  widow  and  wears  a  bit  of 
black  worsted  round  her  leg.  She  mourns  very 

[250] 


THE    SNOW   QUEEN 

pitifully,  but  it  is  all  stuff.    But  now  tell  me  how 
you  managed  to  get  him  back." 

Then  Gerda  and  Kay  told  her  all  about  it. 

Snip,  snap,  snurre !  it 's  all  right  at  last,"  said 
the  robber  girl. 

She  took  both  their  hands  and  promised  that 
if  ever  she  should  pass  through  the  town,  she 
would  call  and  pay  them  a  visit.  And  then  she 
rode  away  into  the  wide  world. 

But  Gerda  and  Kay  went  hand  in  hand  toward 
home,  and  as  they  advanced,  spring  appeared 
more  lovely  with  its  green  verdure  and  its  beauti- 
ful flowers.  Very  soon  they  recognized  the  large 
town  where  they  lived,  and  the  tall  steeples  of  the 
churches  in  which  the  sweet  bells  were  ringing  a 
merry  peal,  as  they  entered  it  and  found  their  way 
to  their  grandmother's  door. 

They  went  upstairs  into  the  little  room,  where 
all  looked  just  as  it  used  to  do.  The  old  clock  was 
going  "  Tick,  tick,"  and  the  hands  pointed  to  the 
time  of  day,  but  as  they  passed  through  the  door 
into  the  room  they  perceived  that  they  were  both 
grown  up  and  become  a  man  and  woman.  The 
roses  out  on  the  roof  were  in  full  bloom  and  peeped 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

in  at  the  window,  and  there  stood  the  little  chairs 
on  which  they  had  sat  when  children,  and  Kay 
and  Gerda  seated  themselves  each  on  their  own 
chair  and  held  each  other  by  the  hand,  while  the 
cold,  empty  grandeur  of  the  Snow  Queen's  palace 
vanished  from  their  memories  like  a  painful  dream. 
The  grandmother  sat  in  God's  bright  sunshine, 
and  she  read  aloud  from  the  Bible,  "  Except  ye 
become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God."  And  Kay  and  Gerda 
looked  into  each  other's  eyes  and  all  at  once 
understood  the  words  of  the  old  song: 

Roses  bloom  and  fade  away, 

But  we  the  Christ-child  see  alway. 

And  they  both  sat  there,  grown  up,  yet  children 
at  heart,  and  it  was  summer  —  warm,  beautiful 
summer. 


[252] 


THE   ROSES   AND  THE  SPARROWS 

T  REALLY  appeared  as  if  something  very 
important  were  going  on  by  the  duck  pond, 
JA.  but  this  was  not  the  case. 

A  few  minutes  before,  all  the  ducks  had  been 
resting  on  the  water  or  standing  on  their  heads  — 
for  that  they  can  do  —  and  then  they  all  swam  in  a 
bustle  to  the  shore.  The  traces  of  their  feet  could 
be  seen  on  the  wet  earth,  and  far  and  wide  could 
be  heard  their  quacking.  The  water,  so  lately  clear 
and  bright  as  a  mirror,  was  in  quite  a  commotion. 

But  a  moment  before,  every  tree  and  bush  near 
the  old  farmhouse  —  and  even  the  house  itself  with 
the  holes  in  the  roof  and  the  swallows'  nests  and, 
above  all,  the  beautiful  rosebush  covered  with  roses 
—  had  been  clearly  reflected  in  the  water.  The 
rosebush  on  the  wall  hung  over  the  water,  which 

[253] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

resembled  a  picture  only  that  everything  appeared 
upside  down,  but  when  the  water  was  set  in 
motion  all  vanished,  and  the  picture  disappeared. 

Two  feathers,  dropped  by  the  fluttering  ducks, 
floated  to  and  fro  on  the  water.  All  at  once  they 
took  a  start  as  if  the  wind  were  coming,  but  it  did 
not  come,  so  they  were  obliged  to  lie  still,  as  the 
water  became  again  quiet  and  at  rest.  The  roses 
could  once  more  behold  their  own  reflections. 
They  were  very  beautiful,  but  they  knew  it  not, 
for  no  one  had  told  them.  The  sun  shone  between 
the  delicate  leaves,  and  the  sweet  fragrance  spread 
itself,  carrying  happiness  everywhere. 

"  How  beautiful  is  our  existence !  "  said  one  of 
the  roses.  "  I  feel  as  if  I  should  like  to  kiss  the 
sun,  it  is  so  bright  and  warm.  I  should  like  to 
kiss  the  roses  too,  our  images  in  the  water,  and 
the  pretty  birds  there  in  their  nests.  There  are 
some  birds  too  in  the  nest  above  us;  they  stretch 
out  their  heads  and  cry  *  Tweet,  tweet,'  very 
faintly.  They  have  no  feathers  yet,  such  as  their 
father  and  mother  have.  Both  above  us  and  be- 
low us  we  have  good  neighbors.  How  beautiful 
is  our  life  !  " 

[254] 


THE  ROSES  AND  THE  SPARROWS 

The  young  birds  above  and  the  young  ones  be- 
low were  the  same ;  they  were  sparrows,  and  their 
nest  was  reflected  in  the  water.  Their  parents 
were  sparrows  also,  and  they  had  taken  possession 
of  an  empty  swallow's  nest  of  the  year  before, 
occupying  it  now  as  if  it  were  their  own. 

"  Are  those  ducks'  children  that  are  swimming 
about?  asked  the  young  sparrows,  as  they  spied 
the  feathers  on  the  water. 

"  If  you  must  ask  questions,  pray  ask  sensible 
ones,"  said  the  mother.  "  Can  you  not  see  that 
these  are  feathers,  the  living  stuff  for  clothes,  which 
I  wear  and  which  you  will  wear  soon,  only  ours 
are  much  finer?  I  should  like,  however,  to  have 
them  up  here  in  the  nest,  they  would  make  it  so 
warm.  I  am  rather  curious  to  know  why  the  ducks 
were  so  alarmed  just  now.  It  could  not  be  from 
fear  of  us,  certainly,  though  I  did  say  *  tweet '  rather 
loudly.  The  thick-headed  roses  really  ought  to 
know,  but  they  are  very  ignorant ;  they  only  look 
at  one  another  and  smell.  I  am  heartily  tired  of 
such  neighbors." 

"  Listen  to  the  sweet  little  birds  above  us,"  said 
the  roses ;  "  they  are  trying  to  sing.  They  cannot 

[255] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

manage  it  yet,  but  it  will  be  done  in  time.  What 
a  pleasure  it  will  be,  and  how  nice  to  have  such 
lively  neighbors !  " 

Suddenly  two  horses  came  prancing  along  to 
drink  at  the  water.  A  peasant  boy  rode  on  one 
of  them ;  he  had  a  broad-brimmed  black  hat  on, 
but  had  taken  off  the  most  of  his  clothes,  that  he 
might  ride  into  the  deepest  part  of  the  pond ;  he 
whistled  like  a  bird,  and  while  passing  the  rose- 
bush he  plucked  a  rose  and  placed  it  in  his  hat 
and  then  rode  on  thinking  himself  very  fine.  The 
other  roses  looked  at  their  sister  and  asked  each 
other  where  she  could  be  going,  but  they  did 
not  know. 

"  I  should  like  for  once  to  go  out  into  the 
world,"  said  one,  "  although  it  is  very  lovely  here 
in  our  home  of  green  leaves.  The  sun  shines 
warmly  by  day,  and  in  the  night  we  can  see  that 
heaven  is  more  beautiful  still,  as  it  sparkles 
through  the  holes  in  the  sky." 

She  meant  the  stars,  for  she  knew  no  better. 

"  We  make  the  house  very  lively,"  said  the 
mother  sparrow,  "  and  people  say  that  a  swallow's 
nest  brings  luck,  therefore  they  are  pleased  to  see 

[256] 


THE  ROSES  AND  THE  SPARROWS 

us ;  but  as  to  our  neighbors,  a  rosebush  on  the  wall 
produces  damp.  It  will  most  likely  be  removed, 
and  perhaps  corn  will  grow  here  instead  of  it. 
Roses  are  good  for  nothing  but  to  be  looked  at 
and  smelt,  or  perhaps  one  may  chance  to  be  stuck 
in  a  hat.  I  have  heard  from  my  mother  that  they 
fall  off  every  year.  The  farmer's  wife  preserves 
them  by  laying  them  in  salt,  and  then  they  receive 
a  French  name  which  I  neither  can  nor  will 
pronounce ;  then  they  are  sprinkled  on  the  fire  to 
produce  a  pleasant  smell.  Such  you  see  is  their 
life.  They  are  only  formed  to  please  the  eye  and 
the  nose.  Now  you  know  all  about  them." 

As  the  evening  approached,  the  gnats  played 
about  in  the  warm  air  beneath  the  rosy  clouds, 
and  the  nightingale  came  and  sang  to  the  roses 
that  the  beautiful  was  like  sunshine  to  the  world, 
and  that  the  beautiful  lives  forever.  The  roses 
thought  that  the  nightingale  was  singing  of  her- 
self, which  any  one  indeed  could  easily  suppose; 
they  never  imagined  that  her  song  could  refer  to 
them.  -But  it  was  a  joy  to  them,  and  they  wondered 
to  themselves  whether  all  the  little  sparrows  in 
the  nest  would  become  nightingales. 

[257] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY   TALES 

"  We  understood  that  bird's  song  very  well," 
said  the  young  sparrows,  "but  one  word  was  not 
clear.  What  is  the  beautiful?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing  of  any  consequence,"  replied  the 
mother  sparrow.  "  It  is  something  relating  to  ap- 
pearances over  yonder  at  the  nobleman's  house. 
The  pigeons  have  a  house  of  their  own,  and  every 
day  they  have  corn  and  peas  spread  for  them.  I 
have  dined  there  with  them  sometimes,  and  so 
shall  you  by  and  by,  for  I  believe  the  old  maxim 
—  *  Tell  me  what  company  you  keep,  and  I  will 
tell  you  what  you  are.'  Well,  over  at  the  noble 
house  there  are  two  birds  with  green  throats  and 
crests  on  their  heads.  They  can  spread  out  their 
tails  like  large  wheels,  and  they  reflect  so  many 
beautiful  colors  that  it  dazzles  the  eyes  to  look 
at  them.  These  birds  are  called  peacocks,  and 
they  belong  to  the  beautiful ;  but  if  only  a  few 
of  their  feathers  were  plucked  off,  they  would 
not  appear  better  than  we  do.  I  would  myself 
have  plucked  some  out  had  they  not  been  so 
large." 

"  I  will  pluck  them,"  squeaked  the  youngest 
sparrow,  who  had  as  yet  no  feathers  of  his  own. 

[258] 


THE  ROSES  AND  THE  SPARROWS 

In  the  cottage  dwelt  two  young  married  peo- 
ple, who  loved  each  other  very  much  and  were 
industrious  and  active  so  that  everything  looked 
neat  and  pretty  around  them.  Early  on  Sunday 
mornings  the  young  wife  came  out,  gathered  a 
handful  of  the  most  beautiful  roses,  and  put 
them  in  a  glass  of  water,  which  she  placed  on, 
a  side  table. 

"  I  see  now  that  it  is  Sunday,"  said  the  hus- 
band, as  he  kissed  his  little  wife.  Then  they  sat 
down  and  read  in  their  hymn  books,  holding  each 
other's  hands,  while  the  sun  shone  down  upon 
the  young  couple  and  upon  the  fresh  roses  in 
the  glass. 

"This  sight  is  really  too  wearisome,"  said  the 
mother  sparrow,  who  from  her  nest  could  look 
into  the  room ;  and  she  flew  away. 

The  same  thing  occurred  the  next  Sunday;  and 
indeed  every  Sunday  fresh  roses  were  gathered 
and  placed  in  a  glass,  but  the  rose  tree  continued 
to  bloom  in  all  its  beauty.  After  a  while  the 
young  sparrows  were  fledged  and  wanted  to  fly, 
but  the  mother  would  not  allow  it,  and  so  they 
were  obliged  to  remain  in  the  nest  for  the  present, 

[259] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

while  she  flew  away  alone.  It  so  happened  that 
some  boys  had  fastened  a  snare  made  of  horse- 
hair to  the  branch  of  a  tree,  and  before  she  was 
aware,  her  leg  became  entangled  in  the  horsehair 
so  tightly  as  almost  to  cut  it  through.  What  pain 
and  terror  she  felt !  The  boys  ran  up  quickly  and 
seized  her,  not  in  a  very  gentle  manner. 

"It  is  only  a  sparrow,"  they  said.  However 
they  did  not  let  her  fly,  but  took  her  home  with 
them,  and  every  time  she  cried  they  tapped  her 
on  the  beak. 

In  the  farmyard  they  met  an  old  man  who 
knew  how  to  make  soap  for  shaving  and  washing, 
in  cakes  or  in  balls.  When  he  saw  the  sparrow 
which  the  boys  had  brought  home  and  which  they 
said  they  did  not  know  what  to  do  with,  he  said, 
"  Shall  we  make  it  beautiful  ?  " 

A  cold  shudder  passed  over  the  sparrow  when 
she  heard  this.  The  old  man  then  took  a  shell 
containing  a  quantity  of  glittering  gold  leaf  from 
a  box  full  of  beautiful  colors  and  told  the  young- 
sters to  fetch  the  white  of  an  egg,  with  which  he 
besmeared  the  sparrow  all  over  and  then  laid  the 
gold  leaf  upon  it,  so  that  the  mother  sparrow 

[260] 


THE  ROSES  AND  THE  SPARROWS 

was  now  gilded  from  head  to  tail.  She  thought 
not  of  her  appearance,  but  trembled  in  every  limb. 
Then  the  soap  maker  tore  a  little  piece  out  of  the 
red  lining  of  his  jacket,  cut  notches  in  it,  so  that 
it  looked  like  a  cock'scomb,  and  stuck  it  on  the 
bird's  head. 

"  Now  you  shall  see  gold-jacket  fly,"  said  the 
old  man,  and  he  released  the  sparrow,  which  flew 
away  in  deadly  terror  with  the  sunlight  shining 
upon  her.  How  she  did  glitter !  All  the  sparrows, 
and  even  a  crow,  who  is  a  knowing  old  boy,  were 
startled  at  the  sight,  yet  they  all  followed  it  to 
discover  what  foreign  bird  it  could  be.  Driven  by 
anguish  and  terror,  she  flew  homeward  almost 
ready  to  sink  to  the  earth  for  want  of  strength. 
The  flock  of  birds  that  were  following  increased 
and  some  even  tried  to  peck  her. 

"  Look  at  him !  look  at  him !  "  they  all  cried. 
"  Look  at  him !  look  at  him  ! "  cried  the  young 
ones  as  their  mother  approached  the  nest,  for  they 
did  not  know  her.  '  That  must  be  a  young  pea- 
cock, for  he  glitters  in  all  colors.  It  quite  hurts 
one's  eyes  to  look  at  him,  as  mother  told  us ; 
'tweet,'  this  is  the  beautiful."  And  then  they 

[261] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

pecked  the  bird  with  their  little  beaks  so  that 
she  was  quite  unable  to  get  into  the  nest  and  was 
too  much  exhausted  even  to  say  "  tweet,"  much 
less  "  I  am  your  mother."  So  the  other  birds  fell 
upon  the  sparrow  and  pulled  out  feather  after 
feather  till  she  sank  bleeding  into  the  rosebush. 

:'  You  poor  creature,"  said  the  roses,  "be  at  rest. 
We  will  hide  you ;  lean  your  little  he'ad  against  us." 

The  sparrow  spread  out  her  wings  once  more, 
then  drew  them  in  close  about  her  and  lay  dead 
among  the  roses,  her  fresh  and  lovely  neighbors. 

:t  Tweet,"  sounded  from  the  nest;  "where  can 
our  mother  be  staying  ?  It  is  quite  unaccountable. 
Can  this  be  a  trick  of  hers  to  show  us  that  we 
are  now  to  take  care  of  ourselves  ?  She  has  left 
us  the  house  as  an  inheritance,  but  as  it  cannot 
belong  to  us  all  when  we  have  families,  who  is 
to  have  it?" 

"It  won't  do  for  you  all  to  stay  with  me  when 
I  increase  my  household  with  a  wife  and  children," 
remarked  the  youngest. 

"  I  shall  have  more  wives  and  children  than 
you,"  said  the  second. 

[262] 


THE  ROSES  AND  THE  SPARROWS 

"  But  I  am  the  eldest,"  cried  a  third. 

Then  they  all  became  angry,  beat  each  other 
with  their  wings,  pecked  with  their  beaks,  till  one 
after  another  bounced  out  of  the  nest.  There  they 
lay  in  a  rage,  holding  their  heads  on  one  side  and 
twinkling  the  eye  that  looked  upward.  This  was 
their  way  of  looking  sulky. 

They  could  all  fly  a  little,  and  by  practice  they 
soon  learned  to  do  so  much  better.  At  length 
they  agreed  upon  a  sign  by  which  they  might 
be  able  to  recognize  each  other  in  case  they 
should  meet  in  the  world  after  they  had  separated. 
This  sign  was  to  be  the  cry  of  "  tweet,  tweet," 
and  a  scratching  on  the  ground  three  times  with 
the  left  foot. 

The  youngster  who  was  left  behind  in  the  nest 
spread  himself  out  as  broad  as  ever  he  could ;  he 
was  the  householder  now.  But  his  glory  did  not 
last  long,  for  during  that  night  red  flames  of  fire 
burst  through  the  windows  of  the  cottage,  seized 
the  thatched  roof,  and  blazed  up  frightfully.  The 
whole  house  was  burned,  and  the  sparrow  perished 
with  it,  while  the  young  couple  fortunately  escaped 
with  their  lives. 

[263] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

When  the  sun  rose  again,  and  all  nature  looked 
refreshed  as  after  a  quiet  sleep,  nothing  remained 
of  the  cottage  but  a  few  blackened,  charred  beams 
leaning  against  the  chimney,  that  now  was  the 
only  master  of  the  place.  Thick  smoke  still  rose 
from  the  ruins,  but  outside  on  the  wall  the  rose- 
bush remained  unhurt,  blooming  and  fresh  as  ever, 
while  each  flower  and  each  spray  was  mirrored  in 
the  clear  water  beneath. 

"  How  beautifully  the  roses  are  blooming  on 
the  walls  of  that  ruined  cottage,"  said  a  passer-by. 
"A  more  lovely  picture  could  scarcely  be  imagined. 
I  must  have  it." 

And  the  speaker  took  out  of  his  pocket  a  little 
book  full  of  white  leaves  of  paper  (for  he  was  an 
artist),  and  with  a  pencil  he  made  a  sketch  of 
the  smoking  ruins,  the  blackened  rafters,  and  the 
chimney  that  overhung  them  and  which  seemed 
more  and  more  to  totter;  and  quite  in  the  fore- 
ground stood  the  large,  blooming  rosebush,  which 
added  beauty  to  the  picture ;  indeed,  it  was  for 
the  sake  of  the  roses  that  the  sketch  had  been 
made.  Later  in  the  day  two  of  the  sparrows  who 
had  been  born  there  came  by. 

[264] 


THE  ROSES  AND  THE  SPARROWS 

"Where  is  the  house?"  they  asked.  "Where 
is  the  nest?  Tweet,  tweet;  all  is  burned  down, 
and  our  strong  brother  with  it.  That  is  all  he 
got  by  keeping  the  nest.  The  roses  have  escaped 
famously;  they  look  as  well  as  ever,  with  their 
rosy  cheeks;  they  do  not  trouble  themselves 
about  their  neighbors'  misfortunes.  I  won't  speak 
to  them.  And  really,  in  my  opinion,  the  place 
looks  very  ugly  " ;  so  they  flew  away. 

On  a  fine,  bright,  sunny  day  in  autumn,  so 
bright  that  any  one  might  have  supposed  it  was 
still  the  middle  of  summer,  a  number  of  pigeons 
were  hopping  about  in  the  nicely  kept  courtyard 
of  the  nobleman's  house,  in  front  of  the  great 
steps.  Some  were  black,  others  white,  and  some 
of  various  colors,  and  their  plumage  glittered 
in  the  sunshine.  An  old  mother  pigeon  said  to 
her  young  ones,  "  Place  yourselves  in  groups ! 
place  yourselves  in  groups !  it  has  a  much  better 
appearance." 

"  What  are  those  little  gray  creatures  which 
are  running  about  behind  us  ? "  asked  an  old 
pigeon  with  red  and  green  round  her  eyes. 
"  Little  gray  ones,  little  gray  ones,"  she  cried. 

[265] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

;'  They  are  sparrows  —  good  little  creatures 
enough.  We  have  always  had  the  character  of 
being  very  good-natured,  so  we  allow  them  to 
pick  up  some  corn  with  us ;  they  do  not  interrupt 
our  conversation,  and  they  draw  back  their  left 
foot  so  prettily." 

Sure  enough,  so  they  did,  three  times  each, 
and  with  the  left  foot  too,  and  said  "tweet,"  by 
which  we  recognize  them  as  the  sparrows  that 
were  brought  up  in  the  nest  on  the  house  that 
was  burned  down. 

"  The  food  here  is  very  good,"  said  the  spar- 
rows; while  the  pigeons  strutted  round  each 
other,  puffed  out  their  throats,  and  formed  their 
own  opinions  on  what  they  observed. 

"  Do  you  see  the  pouter  pigeon  ?  "  asked  one 
pigeon  of  another.  "  Do  you  see  how  he  swal- 
lows the  peas?  He  takes  too  much  and  always 
chooses  the  best  of  everything.  Coo-oo,  coo-oo. 
How  the  ugly,  spiteful  creature  erects  his  crest." 
And  all  their  eyes  sparkled  with  malice.  "  Place 
yourselves  in  groups,  place  yourselves  in  groups. 
Little  gray  coats,  little  gray  coats.  Coo-oo, 


coo-oo." 


[  266  ] 


THE  ROSES  AND  THE  SPARROWS 

So  they  went  on,  and  it  will  be  the  same  a 
thousand  years  hence. 

The  sparrows  feasted  bravely  and  listened 
attentively;  they  even  stood  in  ranks  like  the 
pigeons,  but  it  did  not  suit  them.  So  having 
satisfied  their  hunger,  they  left  the  pigeons  pass- 
ing their  own  opinions  upon  them  to  each  other 
and  slipped  through  the  garden  railings.  The  door 
of  a  room  in  the  house,  leading  into  the  garden, 
stood  open,  and  one  of  them,  feeling  brave  after 
his  good  dinner,  hopped  upon  the  threshold  cry- 
ing, "  Tweet,  I  can  venture  so  far." 

"  Tweet,"  said  another,  "  I  can  venture  that, 
and  a  great  deal  more,"  and  into  the  room  he 
hopped. 

The  first  followed,  and,  seeing  no  one  there,  the 
third  became  courageous  and  flew  right  across 
the  room,  saying :  "  Venture  everything,  or  do  not 
venture  at  all.  This  is  a  wonderful  place — a  man's 
nest,  I  suppose ;  and  look !  what  can  this  be  ?  " 

Just  in  front  of  the  sparrows  stood  the  ruins  of 
the  burned  cottage ;  roses  were  blooming  over  it, 
and  their  reflection  appeared  in  the  water  beneath, 
and  the  black,  charred  beams  rested  against  the 

[267] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

tottering  chimney.  How  could  it  be  ?  How  came 
the  cottage  and  the  roses  in  a  room  in  the  noble- 
man's house  ?  And  then  the  sparrows  tried  to 
fly  over  the  roses  and  the  chimney,  but  they  only 
struck  themselves  against  a  flat  wall.  It  was  a 
picture  —  a  large,  beautiful  picture  which  the 
artist  had  painted  from  the  little  sketch  he  had 
made. 

"Tweet,"  said  the  sparrows,  "it  is  really  noth- 
ing, after  all ;  it  only  looks  like  reality.  Tweet,  I 
suppose  that  is  the  beautiful.  Can  you  understand 
it  ?  I  cannot." 

Then  some  persons  entered  the  room  and  the 
sparrows  flew  away.  Days  and  years  passed.  The 
pigeons  had  often  "  coo-oo-d  "  —  we  must  not  say 
quarreled,  though  perhaps  they  did,  the  naughty 
things  !  The  sparrows  had  suffered  from  cold  in 
the  winter  and  lived  gloriously  in  summer.  They 
were  all  betrothed,  or  married,  or  whatever  you 
like  to  call  it.  They  had  little  ones,  and  each  con- 
sidered its  own  brood  the  wisest  and  the  prettiest. 

One  flew  in  this  direction  and  another  in  that, 
and  when  they  met  they  recognized  each  other  by 
saying  "  tweet "  and  three  times  drawing  back  the 

[268] 


THE  ROSES  AND  THE  SPARROWS 

left  foot.  The  eldest  remained  single ;  she  had  no 
nest  nor  young  ones.  Her  great  wish  was  to  see 
a  large  town,  so  she  flew  to  Copenhagen. 

Close  by  the  castle,  and  by  the  canal,  in  which 
swam  many  ships  laden  with  apples  and  pottery, 
there  was  to  be  seen  a  great  house.  The  windows 
were  broader  below  than  at  the  top,  and  when 
the  sparrows  peeped  through  they  saw  a  room 
that  looked  to  them  like  a  tulip  with  beautiful 
colors  of  every  shade.  Within  the  tulip  were 
white  figures  of  human  beings,  made  of  marble 
—  some  few  of  plaster,  but  this  is  the  same  thing 
to  a  sparrow.  Upon  the  roof  stood  a  metal 
chariot  and  horses,  and  the  goddess  of  victory, 
also  of  metal,  was  seated  in  the  chariot  driving 
the  horses. 

It  was  Thorwaldsen's  museum.  "  How  it  shines 
and  glitters,"  said  the  maiden  sparrow.  "  This 
must  be  the  beautiful,  —  tweet,  —  only  this  is  larger 
than  a  peacock."  She  remembered  what  her 
mother  had  told  them  in  her  childhood,  that  the 
peacock  was  one  of  the  greatest  examples  of  the 
beautiful.  She  flew  down  into  the  courtyard,  where 
everything  also  was  very  grand.  The  walls  were 

[269] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

painted  to  represent  palm  branches,  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  court  stood  a  large,  blooming  rose 
tree,  spreading  its  young,  sweet,  rose-covered 
branches  over  a  grave.  Thither  the  maiden  spar- 
row flew,  for  she  saw  many  others  of  her  own 
kind. 

:'  Tweet,"  said  she,  drawing  back  her  foot  three 
times.  She  had,  during  the  years  that  had  passed, 
often  made  the  usual  greeting  to  the  sparrows  she 
met,  but  without  receiving  any  acknowledgment ; 
for  friends  who  are  once  separated  do  not  meet 
every  day.  This  manner  of  greeting  was  become 
a  habit  to  her,  and  to-day  two  old  sparrows  and 
a  young  one  returned  the  greeting. 

;<  Tweet,"  they  replied  and  drew  back  the  left 
foot  three  times.  They  were  two  old  sparrows 
out  of  the  nest,  and  a  young  one  belonging  to  the 
family.  "Ah,  good  day;  how  do  you  do?  To 
think  of  our  meeting  here !  This  is  a  very  grand 
place,  but  there  is  not  much  to  eat ;  this  is  the 
beautiful.  Tweet!" 

A  great  many  people  now  came  out  of  the  side 
rooms,  in  which  the  marble  statues  stood,  and 
approached  the  grave  where  rested  the  remains 

[270] 


THE  ROSES  AND  THE  SPARROWS 

of  the  great  master  who  carved  them.  As  they 
stood  round  Thorwaldsen's  grave,  each  face  had 
a  reflected  glory,  and  some  few  gathered  up  the 
fallen  rose  leaves  to  preserve  them.  They  had  all 
come  from  afar ;  one  from  mighty  England,  others 
from  Germany  and  France.  One  very  handsome 
lady  plucked  a  rose  and  concealed  it  in  her  bosom. 
Then  the  sparrows  thought  that  the  roses  ruled 
in  this  place,  and  that  the  whole  house  had  been 
built  for  them  —  which  seemed  really  too  much 
honor ;  but  as  all  the  people  showed  their  love  for 
the  roses,  the  sparrows  thought  they  would  not 
remain  behindhand  in  paying  their  respects. 

'  Tweet,"  they  said,  and  swept  the  ground  with 
their  tails,  and  glanced  with  one  eye  at  the  roses. 
They  had  not  looked  at  them  very  long,  however, 
before  they  felt  convinced  that  they  were  old 
acquaintances,  and  so  they  actually  were.  The 
artist  who  had  sketched  the  rosebush  and  the 
ruins  of  the  cottage  had  since  then  received  per- 
mission to  transplant  the  bush  and  had  given  it 
to  the  architect,  for  more  beautiful  roses  had  never 
been  seen.  The  architect  had  planted  it  on  the 
grave  of  Thorwaldsen,  where  it  continued  to 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

bloom,  the  image  of  the  beautiful,  scattering  its 
fragrant,  rosy  leaves  to  be  gathered  and  carried 
away  into  distant  lands  in  memory  of  the  spot 
on  which  they  fell. 

"  Have  you  obtained  a  situation  in  town  ?  "  then 
asked  the  sparrows  of  the  roses. 

The  roses  nodded.  They  recognized  their  little 
brown  neighbors  and  were  rejoiced  to  see  them 
again. 

"It  is  very  delightful,"  said  the  roses,  "to  live 
here  and  to  blossom,  to  meet  old  friends,  and  to 
see  cheerful  faces  every  day.  It  is  as  if  each  day 
were  a  holiday." 

"Tweet,"  said  the  sparrows  to  each  other. 
"  Yes,  these  really  are  our  old  neighbors.  We 
remember  their  origin  near  the  pond.  Tweet !  how 
they  have  risen,  to  be  sure.  Some  people  seem 
to  get  on  while  they  are  asleep.  Ah !  there  's  a 
withered  leaf.  I  can  see  it  quite  plainly." 

And  they  pecked  at  the  leaf  till  it  fell,  but 
the  rosebush  continued  fresher  and  greener  than 
ever.  The  roses  bloomed  in  the  sunshine  on 
Thorwaldsen's  grave  and  thus  became  linked  with 
his  immortal  name. 

[272] 


THE   OLD   HOUSE 

VERY  old  house  once  stood  in  a  street 
with  several  others  that  were  quite  new 
and  clean.  One  could  read  the  date  of 
its  erection,  which  had  been  carved  on  one  of 
the  beams  and  surrounded  by  scrolls  formed 
of  tulips  and  hop  tendrils ;  by  this  date  it  could  be 
seen  that  the  old  house  was  nearly 'three  hundred 
years  old.  Entire  verses  too  were  written  over  the 
windows  in  old-fashioned  letters,  and  grotesque 
faces,  curiously  carved,  grinned  at  you  from  under 
the  cornices.  One  story  projected  a  long  way 
over  the  other,  and  under  the  roof  ran  a  leaden 
gutter  with  a  dragon's  head  at  the  end.  The 
rain  was  intended  to  pour  out  at  the  dragon's 
mouth,  but  it  ran  out  of  his  body  instead,  for  there 
was  a  hole  in  the  gutter. 

[273] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

All  the  other  houses  in  the  street  were  new 
and  well  built,  with  large  windowpanes  and 
smooth  walls.  Any  one  might  see  they  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  old  house.  Perhaps  they 
thought :  "How  long  will  that  heap  of  rubbish 
remain  here,  to  be  a  disgrace  to  the  whole  street  ? 
The  parapet  projects  so  far  forward  that  no  one 
can  see  out  of  our  windows  what  is  going  on  in 
that  direction.  The  stairs  are  as  broad  as  the 
staircase  of  a  castle  and  as  steep  as  if  they  led 
to  a  church  tower.  The  iron  railing  looks  like 
the  gate  of  a  cemetery,  and  there  are  brass  knobs 
upon  it.  It  is  really  too  ridiculous." 

Opposite  to  the  old  house  were  more  nice 
new  houses,  which  had  just  the  same  opinion  as 
their  neighbors. 

At  the  window  of  one  of  them  sat  a  little  boy 
with  fresh,  rosy  cheeks  and  clear,  sparkling  eyes, 
who  was  very  fond  of  the  old  house  in  sunshine 
or  in  moonlight.  He  would  sit  and  look  at  the 
wall,  from  which  the  plaster  had  in  some  places 
fallen  off,  and  fancy  all  sorts  of  scenes  which  had 
been  in  former  times  —  how  the  street  must  have 
looked  when  the  houses  had  all  gable  roofs,  open 

[274] 


THE    OLD    HOUSE 

staircases,  and  gutters  with  dragons  at  the  spout. 
He  could  even  see  soldiers  walking  about  with 
halberds.  Certainly  it  was  a  very  good  house  to 
look  at  for  amusement. 

An  old  man  lived  in  it  who  wore  knee  breeches, 
a  coat  with  large  brass  buttons,  and  a  wig  which 
any  one  could  see  was  a  real  one.  Every  morn- 
ing there  came  an  old  man  to  clean  the  rooms 
and  to  wait  upon  him,  otherwise  the  old  man  in 
the  knee  breeches  would  have  been  quite  alone 
in  the  house.  Sometimes  he  came  to  one  of  the 
windows  and  looked  out ;  then  the  little  boy 
nodded  to  him,  and  the  old  man  nodded  back 
again,  till  they  became  acquainted,  and  were 
friends,  although  they  had  never  spoken  to  each 
other ;  but  that  was  of  no  consequence. 

The  little  boy  one  day  heard  his  parents  say, 
*  The  old  man  is  very  well  off,  but  he  must  be 
terribly  lonely."  So  the  next  Sunday  morning  the 
little  boy  wrapped  something  in  a  paper,  and  took 
it  to  the  door  of  the  old  house,  and  said  to  the 
attendant  who  waited  upon  the  old  man :  "  Will 
you  please  to  give  this  from  me  to  the  gentleman 
who  lives  here  ?  I  have  two  tin  soldiers,  and  this 

[275] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

is  one  of  them,  and  he  shall  have  it,  because  I 
know  he  is  terribly  lonely." 

The  old  attendant  nodded  and  looked  very 
much  pleased,  and  then  he  carried  the  tin  soldier 
into  the  house. 

Afterwards  he  was  sent  over  to  ask  the  little 
boy  if  he  would  not  like  to  pay  a  visit  himself. 
His  parents  gave  him  permission,  and  so  it  was 
that  he  gained  admission  to  the  old  house. 

The  brass  knobs  on  the  railings  shone  more 
brightly  than  ever,  as  if  they  had  been  polished 
on  account  of  his  visit;  and  on  the  doors  were 
carved  trumpeters  standing  in  tulips,  and  it 
seemed  as  if  they  were  blowing  with  all  their 
might,  their  cheeks  were  so  puffed  out :  "  Tanta- 
ra-ra,  the  little  boy  is  coming.  Tanta-ra-ra,  the 
little  boy  is  coming." 

Then  the  door  opened.  All  round  the  hall  hung 
old  portraits  of  knights  in  armor  and  ladies  in  silk 
gowns ;  and  the  armor  rattled,  and  the  silk  dresses 
rustled.  Then  came  a  staircase  which  went  up  a 
long  way,  and  then  came  down  a  little  way  and  led 
to  a  balcony  which  was  in  a  very  ruinous  state. 
There  were  large  holes  and  long  cracks,  out  of 

[276] 


THE    OLD    HOUSE 

which  grew  grass  and  leaves ;  indeed  the  whole 
balcony,  the  courtyard,  and  the  walls  were  so  over- 
grown with  green  that  they  looked  like  a  garden. 

In  the  balcony  stood  flowerpots  on  which  were 
heads  having  asses'  ears,  but  the  flowers  in  them 
grew  just  as  they  pleased.  In  one  pot,  pinks  were 
growing  all  over  the  sides,  —  at  least  the  green 
leaves  were,  —  shooting  forth  stalk  and  stem  and 
saying  as  plainly  as  they  could  speak,  "  The  air 
has  fanned  me,  the  sun  has  kissed  me,  and  I  am 
promised  a  little  flower  for  next  Sunday  —  really 
for  next  Sunday !  " 

Then  they  entered  a  room  in  which  the  walls 
were  covered  with  leather,  and  the  leather  had 
golden  flowers  stamped  upon  it. 

"  Gilding  wears  out  with  time  and  bad  weather, 
But  leather  endures  ;  there  's  nothing  like  leather," 

said  the  walls.  Chairs  handsomely  carved,  with 
elbows  on  each  side  and  with  very  high  backs, 
stood  in  the  room ;  and  as  they  creaked  they 
seemed  to  say :  "  Sit  down.  Oh  dear !  how  I  am 
creaking;  I  shall  certainly  have  the  gout  like 
the  old  cupboard.  Gout  in  my  back,  ugh !  " 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

And  then  the  little  boy  entered  the  room  where 
the  old  man  sat. 

'  Thank  you  for  the  tin  soldier,  my  little  friend," 
said  the  old  man,  "  and  thank  you  also  for  coming 
to  see  me." 

!<  Thanks,  thanks  "  —  or  "  Creak,  creak  "  —  said 
all  the  furniture. 

There  was  so  much  furniture  that  the  pieces 
stood  in  each  other's  way  to  get  a  sight  of  the 
little  boy.  On  the  wall  near  the  center  of  the 
room  hung  the  picture  of  a  beautiful  lady,  young 
and  gay,  dressed  in  the  fashion  of  the  olden  times, 
with  powdered  hair  and  a  full,  stiff  skirt.  She 
said  neither  "  thanks"  nor  "creak,"  but  she  looked 
down  upon  the  little  boy  with  her  mild  eyes,  and 
he  said  to  the  old  man, 

v^ 

"  Where  did  you  get  that  picture  ?  " 
"  From  the  shop  opposite,"  he  replied.  "  Many 
portraits  hang  there.  No  one  seems  to  know 
any  of  them  or  to  trouble  himself  about  them. 
The  persons  they  represent  have  been  dead  and 
buried  long  since.  But  I  knew  this  lady  many 
years  ago,  and  she  has  been  dead  nearly  half 
a  century." 

[2/8] 


T 


ou  for  the  tin  soldier, 
ittle  friend'' 
\d   the  old 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

Under  a  glass  beneath  the  picture  hung  a  nose- 
gay of  withered  flowers,  which  were,  no  doubt,  half 
a  century  old  too,  at  least  they  appeared  so. 

And  the  pendulum  of  the  old  clock  went  to 
and  fro,  and  the  hands  turned  round,  and  as  time 
passed  on  everything  in  the  room  grew  older, 
but  no  one  seemed  to  notice  it. 

'  They  say  at  home,"  said  the  little  boy,  "  that 
you  are  very  lonely." 

"  Oh,"  replied  the  old  man,  "  I  have  pleasant 
thoughts  of  all  that  is  past  recalled  by  memory, 
and  now  you  too  are  come  to  visit  me,  and  that 
is  very  pleasant." 

Then  he  took  from  the  bookcase  a  book  full 
of  pictures  representing  long  processions  of  won- 
derful coaches  such  as  are  never  seen  at  the 
present  time,  soldiers  like  the  knave  of  clubs, 
and.  citizens  with  waving  banners.  The  tailors 
had  a  flag  with  a  pair  of  scissors  supported  by  two 
lions,  and  on  the  shoemakers'  flag  there  were  not 
boots  but  an  eagle  with  two  heads,  for  the  shoe- 
makers must  have  everything  arranged  so  that 
they  can  say,  "  This  is  a  pair."  What  a  picture 
book  it  was !  And  then  the  old  man  went  into 

[280] 


THE    OLD    HOUSE 

another  room  to  fetch  apples  and  nuts.  It  was 
very  pleasant,  certainly,  to  be  in  that  old  house. 

"  I  cannot  endure  it,"  said  the  tin  soldier,  who 
stood  on  a  shelf ;  "  it  is  so  lonely  and  dull  here. 
I  have  been  accustomed  to  live  in  a  family,  and 
I  cannot  get  used  to  this  life.  I  cannot  bear  it. 
The  whole  day  is  long  enough,  but  the  evening 
is  longer.  It  is  not  here  as  it  was  in  your  house 
opposite,  when  your  father  and  mother  talked  so 
cheerfully  together,  while  you  and  all  the  dear 
children  made  such  a  delightful  noise.  Do  you 
think  he  gets  any  kisses  ?  Do  you  think  he  ever 
has  friendly  looks  or  a  Christmas  tree  ?  He  will 
have  nothing  now  but  the  grave.  Oh !  I  cannot 
bear  it." 

"  You  must  not  look  on  the  sorrowful  side  so 
much,"  said  the  little  boy.  "  I  think  everything  in 
this  house  is  beautiful,  and  all  the  old,  pleasant 
thoughts  come  back  here  to  pay  visits." 

"  Ah,  but  I  never  see  any,  and  I  don't  know 
them,"  said  the  tin  soldier ;  "  and  I  cannot  bear  it." 

"  You  must  bear  it,"  said  the  little  boy.  Then 
the  old  man  came  back  with  a  pleasant  face,  and 
brought  with  him  beautiful  preserved  fruits  as 

[281] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

well  as  apples  and  nuts,  and  the  little  boy  thought 
no  more  of  the  tin  soldier. 

How  happy  and  delighted  the  little  boy  was ! 
And  after  he  returned  home,  and  while  days  and 
weeks  passed,  a  great  deal  of  nodding  took  place 
from  one  house  to  the  other,  and  then  the  little 
boy  went  to  pay  another  visit.  The  carved  trum- 
peters blew :  "  Tanta-ra-ra,  there  is  the  little  boy. 
Tanta-ra-ra."  The  swords  and  armor  on  the  old 
knights'  pictures  rattled,  the  silk  dresses  rustled, 
the  leather  repeated  its  rhyme,  and  the  old  chairs 
that  had  the  gout  in  their  backs  cried  "  Creak  " ; 
it  was  all  exactly  like  the  first  time,  for  in  that 
house  one  day  and  one  hour  were  just  like  another. 

"  I  cannot  bear  it  any  longer,"  said  the  tin 
soldier ;  "  I  have  wept  tears  of  tin,  it  is  so  melan- 
choly here.  Let  me  go  to  the  wars  and  lose  an 
arm  or  a  leg ;  that  would  be  some  change.  I  can- 
not bear  it.  Now  I  know  what  it  is  to  have  visits 
from  one's  old  recollections  and  all  they  bring  with 
them.  I  have  had  visits  from  mine,  and  you  may 
believe  me  it  is  not  altogether  pleasant.  I  was  very 
nearly  jumping  from  the  shelf.  I  saw  you  all  in 
your  house  opposite,  as  if  you  were  really  present. 

[282] 


THE   OLD    HOUSE 

"  It  was  Sunday  morning,  and  you  children 
stood  round  the  table,  singing  the  hymn  that 
you  sing  every  morning.  You  were  standing 
quietly  with  your  hands  folded,  and  your  father 
and  mother  were  looking  just  as  serious,  when 
the  door  opened,  and  your  little  sister  Maria,  who 
is  not  two  years  old,  was  brought  into  the  room. 
You  know  she  always  dances  when  she  hears 
music  and  singing  of  any  sort,  so  she  began  to 
dance  immediately,  although  she  ought  not  to 
have  done  so ;  but  she  could  not  get  into  the  right 
time  because  the  tune  was  so  slow,  so  she  stood 
first  on  one  foot  and  then  on  the  other  and  bent 
her  head  very  low,  but  it  would  not  suit  the 
music.  You  all  stood  looking  grave,  although  it 
was  very  difficult  to  do  so,  but  I  laughed  so  to 
myself  that  I  fell  down  from  the  table  and  got 
a  bruise,  which  is  still  there.  I  know  it  was  not 
right  to  laugh.  So  all  this,  and  everything  else 
that  I  have  seen,  keeps  running  in  my  head,  and 
these  must  be  the  old  recollections  that  bring  so 
many  thoughts  with  them.  Tell  me  whether  you 
still  sing  on  Sundays,  and  tell  me  about  your 
little  sister  Maria,  and  how  my  old  comrade  is, 

[283] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

the  other  tin  soldier.    Ah,  really  he  must  be  very 
happy.    I  cannot  endure  this  life." 

"  You  are  given  away,"  said  the  little  boy ; 
"  you  must  stay.  Don't  you  see  that  ?  "  Then 
the  old  man  came  in  with  a  box  containing 
many  curious  things  to  show  him.  Rouge-pots, 
scent-boxes,  and  old  cards  so  large  and  so  richly 
gilded  that  none  are  ever  seen  like  them  in  these 
days.  And  there  were  smaller  boxes  to  look  at, 
and  the  piano  was  opened,  and  inside  the  lid  were 
painted  landscapes.  But  when  the  old  man  played, 
the  piano  sounded  quite  out  of  tune.  Then  he 
looked  at  the  picture  he  had  bought  at  the  broker's, 
and  his  eyes  sparkled  brightly  as  he  nodded  at  it 
and  said,  "Ah,  she  could  sing  that  tune." 

"  I  will  go  to  the  wars !  I  will  go  to  the 
wars !  "  cried  the  tin  soldier  as  loud  as  he  could, 
and  threw  himself  down  on  the  floor.  Where 
could  he  have  fallen?  The  old  man  searched, 
and  the  little  boy  searched,  but  he  was  gone  and 
could  not  be  found.  "  I  shall  find  him  again," 
said  the  old  man.  But  he  did  not  find  him ;  the 
tin  soldier  had  fallen  through  a  crack  between  the 
boards  and  lay  there  now  as  in  an  open  grave. 

[284] 


THE    OLD    HOUSE 

The  day  went  by,  and  the  little  boy  returned 
home;  the  week  passed,  and  many  more  weeks. 
It  was  winter,  and  the  windows  were  quite  frozen, 
so  that  the  little  boy  was  obliged  to  breathe  on 
the  panes  and  rub  a  hole  to  peep  through  at 
the  old  house.  Snowdrifts  were  lying  in  all  the 
scrolls  and  on  the  inscriptions,  and  the  steps  were 
covered  with  snow  'as  if  no  one  were  at  home. 
And  indeed  nobody  was  at  home,  for  the  old 
man  was  dead. 

In  the  evening  the  old  man  was  to  be  taken  to 
the  country  to  be  buried  there  in  his  own  grave ; 
so  they  carried  him  away.  No  one  followed  him, 
for  all  his  friends  were  dead,  and  the  little  boy 
kissed  his  hand  to  his  old  friend  as  he  saw  him 
borne  away. 

A  few  days  after,  there  was  an  auction  at  the 
old  house,  and  from  his  window  the  little  boy  saw 
the  people  carrying  away  the  pictures  of  old 
knights  and  ladies,  the  flowerpots  with  the  long 
ears,  the  old  chairs,  and  the  cupboards.  Some 
were  taken  one  way,  some  another.  Her  portrait, 
which  had  been  bought  at  the  picture  dealer's, 
went  back  again  to  his  shop,  and  there  it 

[285] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

remained,  for  no  one  seemed  to  know  her  or 
to  care  for  the  old  picture. 

In  the  spring  they  began  to  pull  the  house  itself 
down;  people  called  it  complete  rubbish.  From 
the  street  could  be  seen  the  room  in  which  the 
walls  were  covered  with  leather,  ragged  and  torn, 
and  the  green  in  the  balcony  hung  straggling  over 
the  beams;  they  pulled  it  down  quickly,  for  it 
looked  ready  to  fall,  and  at  last  it  was  cleared  away 
altogether.  "  What  a  good  riddance,"  said  the 
neighbors'  houses. 

Afterward  a  fine  new  house  was  built,  farther 
back  from  the  road.  It  had  lofty  windows  and 
smooth  walls,  but  in  front,  on  the  spot  where  the  old 
house  really  stood,  a  little  garden  was  planted,  and 
wild  vines  grew  up  over  the  neighboring  walls.  In 
front  of  the  garden  were  large  iron  railings  and  a 
great  gate  which  looked  very  stately.  People  used 
to  stop  and  peep  through  the  railings.  The  spar- 
rows assembled  in  dozens  upon  the  wild  vines 
and  chattered  all  together  as  loud  as  they  could, 
but  not  about  the  old  house.  None  of  them  could 
remember  it,  for  many  years  had  passed  by;  so 
many,  indeed,  that  the  little  boy.  was  now  a  man, 

[286] 


THE    OLD    HOUSE 

and  a  really  good  man  too,  and  his  parents  were 
very  proud  of  him.  He  had  just  married  and  had 
come  with  his  young  wife  to  reside  in  the  new 
house  with  the  garden  in  front  of  it,  and  now  he 
stood  there  by  her  side  while  she  planted  a  field 
flower  that  she  thought  very  pretty.  She  was 
planting  it  herself  with  her  little  hands  and  press- 
ing down  the  earth  with  her  fingers.  "  Oh,  dear, 
what  was  that  ? "  she  exclaimed  as  something 
pricked  her.  Out  of  the  soft  earth  something 
was  sticking  up. 

It  was  —  only  think!  —  it  was  really  the  tin 
soldier,  the  very  same  which  had  been  lost  up  in 
the  old  man's  room  and  had  been  hidden  among 
old  wood  and  rubbish  for  a  long  time  till  it  sank 
into  the  earth,  where  it  must  have  been  for  many 
years.  And  the  young  wife  wiped  the  soldier,  first 
with  a  green  leaf  and  then  with  her  fine  pocket 
handkerchief,  that  smelt  of  a  beautiful  perfume. 
And  the  tin  soldier  felt  as  if  he  were  recovering 
from  a  fainting  fit. 

"  Let  me  see  him,"  said  the  young  man,  and 
then  he  smiled  and  shook  his  head  and  said,  "It 
can  scarcely  be  the  same,  but  it  reminds  me  of 

[287] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

something  that  happened  to  one  of  my  tin  soldiers 
when  I  was  a  little  boy."  And  then  he  told  his 
wife  about  the  old  house  and  the  old  man  and  of 
the  tin  soldier  which  he  had  sent  across  because 
he  thought  the  old  man  was  lonely.  And  he 
related  the  story  so  clearly  that  tears  came  into 
the  eyes  of  the  young  wife  for  the  old  house  and 
the  old  man. 

"  It  is  very  likely  that  this  is  really  the  same 
soldier,"  said  she,  "  and  I  will  take  care  of  him 
and  always  remember  what  you  have  told  me ; 
but  some  day  you  must  show  me  the  old  man's 
grave." 

"  I  don't  know  where  it  is,"  he  replied ;  "  no 
one  knows.  All  his  friends  are  dead.  No  one 
took  care  of  him  or  tended  his  grave,  and  I  was 
only  a  little  boy." 

"  Oh,  how  dreadfully  lonely  he  must  have  been," 
said  she. 

'  Yes,  terribly  lonely,"  cried  the  tin  soldier; 
"still  it  is  delightful  not  to  be  forgotten." 

"  Delightful  indeed  !  "  cried  a  voice  quite  near  to 
them.  No  one  but  the  tin  soldier  saw  that  it  came 
from  a  rag  of  the  leather  which  hung  in  tatters. 

[288] 


THE   OLD    HOUSE 

It  had  lost  all  its  gilding  and  looked  like  wet 
earth,  but  it  had  an  opinion,  and  it  spoke  it 
thus:  ' 

"  Gilding  wears  out  with  .time  and  bad  weather, 
But  leather  endures  ;    there  's  nothing  like  leather." 

But  the  tin  soldier  did  not  believe  any  such 
thing. 


[289] 


THE  CONCEITED  APPLE  BRANCH 

T  WAS  the  month  of  May.  The  wind  still 
blew  cold,  but  from  bush  and  tree,  field  and 
flower,  came  the  welcome  sound,  "  Spring  is 
come." 

Wild  flowers  in  profusion  covered  the  hedges. 
Under  the  little  apple  tree  Spring  seemed  busy, 
and  he  told  his  tale  from  one  of  the  branches, 
which  hung  fresh  and  blooming  and  covered 
with  delicate  pink  blossoms  that  were  just  ready 
to  open. 

The  branch  well  knew  how  beautiful  it  was; 
this  knowledge  exists  as  much  in  the  leaf  as  in 
the  blood.  I  was  therefore  not  surprised  when 
a  nobleman's  carriage,  in  which  sat  the  young 
countess,  stopped  in  the  road  just  by.  The  apple 
branch,  she  said,  was  a  most  lovely  object,  an 

[290] 


THE  CONCEITED  APPLE  BRANCH 

emblem  of  spring  in  its  most  charming  aspect. 
The  branch  was  broken  off  for  her,  and  she  held 
it  in  her  delicate  hand  and  sheltered  it  with  her 
silk  parasol. 

Then  they  drove  to  the  castle,  in  which  were 
lofty  halls  and  splendid  drawing-rooms.  Pure 
white  curtains  fluttered  before  the  open  windows, 
and  beautiful  flowers  stood  in  transparent  vases. 
In  one  of  them,  which  looked  as  if  it  had  been 
cut  out  of  newly  fallen  snow,  the  apple  branch 
was  placed  among  some  fresh  light  twigs  of 
beech.  It  was  a  charming  sight.  And  the  branch 
became  proud,  which  was  very  much  like  human 
nature. 

People  of  every  description  entered  the  room, 
and  according  to  their  position  in  society  so  dared 
they  to  express  their  admiration.  Some  few  said 
nothing,  others  expressed  too  much,  and  the  apple 
branch  very  soon  got  to  understand  that  there  was 
as  much  difference  in  the  characters  of  human 
beings  as  in  those  of  plants  and  flowers.  Some  are 
all  for  pomp  and  parade,  others  have  a  great  deal 
to  do  to  maintain  their  own  importance,  while  the 
rest  might  be  spared  without  much  loss  to  society. 

[291] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

So  thought  the  apple  branch  as  he  stood  before 
the  open  window,  from  which  he  could  see  out 
over  gardens  and  fields,  where  there  were  flowers 
and  plants  enough  for  him  to  think  and  reflect 
upon  —  some  rich  and  beautiful,  some  poor  and 
humble  indeed. 

"  Poor  despised  herbs,"  said  the  apple  branch ; 
"there  is  really  a  difference  between  them  and 
such  as  I  am.  How  unhappy  they  must  be  if  they 
can  feel  as  those  in  my  position  do !  There  is  a 
difference  indeed,  and  so  there  ought  to  be,  or 
we  should  all  be  equals." 

And  the  apple  branch  looked  with  a  sort  of  pity 
upon  them,  especially  on  a  certain  little  flower 
that  is  found  in  fields  and  in  ditches.  No  one 
bound  these  flowers  together  in  a  nosegay,  they 
were  too  common,  —  they  were  even  known  to 
grow  between  the  paving  stones,  shooting  up 
everywhere  like  bad  weeds,  —  and  they  bore  the 
very  ugly  name  of  "  dog  flowers,"  or  "  dandelions." 

"  Poor  despised  plants,"  said  the  apple  bough, 
"  it  is  not  your  fault  that  you  are  so  ugly  and  that 
you  have  such  an  ugly  name,  but  it  is  with  plants 
as  with  men  —  there  must  be  a  difference." 

[292] 


THE  CONCEITED  APPLE  BRANCH 

-  "A  difference!"  cried  the  sunbeam  as  he 
kissed  the  blooming  apple  branch  and  then  kissed 
the  yellow  dandelion  out  in  the  fields.  All  were 
brothers,  and  the  sunbeam  kissed  them  —  the 
poor  flowers  as  well  as  the  rich. 

The  apple  bough  had  never  thought  of  the 
boundless  love  of  God  which  extends  over  all  the 
works  of  creation,  over  everything  which  lives 
and  moves  and  has  its  being  in  Him.  He  had 
never  thought  of  the  good  and  beautiful  which  are 
so  often  hidden,  but  can  never  remain  forgotten 
by  Him,  not  only  among  the  lower  creation,  but 
also  among  men.  The  sunbeam,  the  ray  of  light, 
knew  better. 

"  You  do  not  see  very  far  nor  very  clearly,"  he 
said  to  the  apple  branch.  "  Which  is  the  despised 
plant  you  so  specially  pity  ?  " 

"  The  dandelion,"  he  replied.  "  No  one  ever 
places  it  in  a  nosegay;  it  is  trodden  under  foot, 
there  are  so  many  of  them ;  and  when  they  run  to 
seed  they  have  flowers  like  wool,  which  fly  away 
in  little  pieces  over  the  roads  and  cling  to  the 
dresses  of  the  people ;  they  are  only  weeds  —  but 
of  course  there  must  be  weeds.  Oh,  I  am  really 

[293] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

very  thankful  that  I  was  not  made  like  one  of 
these  flowers." 

There  came  presently  across  the  fields  a  whole 
group  of  children,  the  youngest  of  whom  was  so 
small  that  he  had  to  be  carried  by  the  others ;  and 
when  he  was  seated  on  the  grass,  among  the  yel- 
low flowers,  he  laughed  aloud  with  joy,  kicked  out 
his  little  legs,  rolled  about,  plucked  the  yellow 
flowers  and  kissed  them  in  childlike  innocence. 

The  elder  children  broke  off  the  flowers  with 
long  stems,  bent  the  stalks  one  round  the  other  to 
form  links,  and  made  first  a  chain  for  the  neck, 
then  one  to  go  across  the  shoulders  and  hang 
down  to  the  waist,  and  at  last  a  wreath  to  wear 
about  the  head ;  so  that,,  they  looked  quite  splendid 
in  their  garlands  of  green  stems  and  golden  flow- 
ers. But  the  eldest  among  them  gathered  care- 
fully the  faded  flowers,  on  the  stem  of  which  were 
grouped  together  the  seeds,  in  the  form  of  a  white, 
feathery  coronal. 

These  loose,  airy  wool-flowers  are  very  beautiful, 
and  look  like  fine,  snowy  feathers  or  down.  The 
children  held  them  to  their  mouths  and  tried  to 
blow  away  the  whole  coronal  with  one  puff  of 

[294] 


THE  CONCEITED  APPLE  BRANCH 

the  breath.  They  had  been  told  by  their  grand- 
mothers that  whoever  did  so  would  be  sure  to  have 
new  clothes  before  the  end  of  the  year.  The  de- 
spised flower  was  by  this  raised  to  the  position 
of  a  prophet,  or  foreteller  of  events. 

"  Do  you  see,"  said  the  sunbeam,  "  do  you  see 
the  beauty  of  these  flowers  ?  Do  you  see  their 
powers  of  giving  pleasure  ? " 

"  Yes,  to  children,"  said  the  apple  bough. 

By  and  by  an  old  woman  came  into  the  field 
and,  with  a  blunt  knife  without  a  handle,  began 
to  dig  round  the  roots  of  some  of  the  dandelion 
plants  and  pull  them  up.  With  some  she  in- 
tended to  make  tea  for  herself,  but  the  rest  she 
was  going  to  sell  to  the  chemist  and  obtain  money. 

"  But  beauty  is  of  higher  value  than  all  this," 
said  the  apple-tree  branch ;  "  only  the  chosen  ones 
can  be  admitted  into  the  realms  of  the  beautiful. 
There  is  a  difference  between  plants,  just  as  there 
is  a  difference  between  men." 

Then  the  sunbeam  spoke  of  the  boundless  love 
of  God  as  seen  in  creation  and  over  all  that  lives, 
and  of  the  equal  distribution  of  His  gifts,  both  in 
time  and  in  eternity. 

[295] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 

"  That  is  your  opinion,"  said  the  apple  bough. 

Then  some  people  came  into  the  room  and 
among  them  the  young  countess  —  the  lady  who 
had  placed  the  apple  bough  in  the  transparent 
vase,  so  pleasantly  beneath  the  rays  of  sunlight. 
She  carried  in  her  hand  something  that  seemed 
like  a  flower.  The  object  was  hidden  by  two  or 
three  great  leaves  which  covered  it  like  a  shield 
so  that  no  draft  or  gust  of  wind  could  injure  it, 
and  it  was  carried  more  carefully  than  the  apple 
branch  had  ever  been. 

Very  cautiously  the  large  leaves  were  removed, 
and  there  appeared  the  feathery  seed  crown  of 
the  despised  yellow  dandelion.  This  was  what  the 
lady  had  so  carefully  plucked  and  carried  home 
vSO  safely  covered,  so  that  not  one  of  the  delicate 
feathery  arrows  of  which  its  mistlike  shape  was 
so  lightly  formed  should  flutter  away.  She  now 
drew  it  forth  quite  uninjured  and  wondered  at  its 
beautiful  form,  its  airy  lightness  and  singular  con- 
struction so  soon  to  be  blown  away  by  the  wind. 

"  See,"  she  exclaimed,  "  how  wonderfully  God 
has  made  this  little  flower.  I  will  paint  it  in  a 
picture  with  the  apple  branch.  Every  one  admires 

[296] 


THE    CONCEITED    APPLE    BRANCH 

the  beauty  of  the  apple  bough,  but  this  humble 
flower  has  been  endowed  by  Heaven  with  another 
kind  of  loveliness,  and  although  they  differ  in 
appearance  both  are  children  of  the  realms  of 
beauty." 

Then  the  sunbeam  kissed  both  the  lowly  flower 
and  the  blooming  apple  branch,  upon  whose  leaves 
appeared  a  rosy  blush. 


[297] 


NOTES 


LITTLE  TUK 

PAGE  21.  Seeland ' :  one  of  the  islands  of  Denmark,  the  country  in 
which  little  Tuk  lived. 

PAGE  22.    Kjoge  (ke  e  geh) :  a  town  about  which  Tuk  was  to  learn. 

PAGE  24.  Prcesto  (praes'te) :  another  town  about  which  Tuk  was  to 
learn. 

popinjay  (pop'm  jay) :  an  image  of  a  parrot. 
Thorivaldseit  (tor  val  s^n) :  one  of  the  greatest  of  modern  sculp- 
tors.   Supposed  to  have  been  a  native  of  Denmark. 

Vordingborg  (vor'dlng  boric) :  in  ancient  times  this  was  a  place 
of  great  importance.  Now  it  is  an  insignificant  town ;  only  a  single 
lonely  tower  remains  where  once  a  noble  castle  stood. 

PAGE  25.  Korsbr  (kSr'sor) :  before  the  time  of  steamers  this  used  to 
be  called  the  most  tiresome  town  in  Denmark.  Travelers  had 
to  wait  for  a  favorable  wind.  The  poet  mentioned  in  the  story 
was  Baggeson. 

PAGE  26.    Roskilde  (r6s  gel  le) :  once  the  capital  of  Denmark. 

PAGE  27.  Sorb  (so're):  a  very  quiet  little  town,  in  a  beautiful  situa- 
tion, surrounded  by  forests  and  lakes.  Holberg,  one  of  Den- 
mark's greatest  poets,  founded  a  celebrated  academy  here.  Other 
noted  poets  also  had  their  homes  here,  and  taught  in  the  academy. 

LITTLE  THUMBELINA 

PAGE  88.  Decaying  wood  sometimes  gives  out  a  faint  light  called 
phosphorescence. 

[299] 


HANS    ANDERSEN'S    FAIRY    TALES 


SUNSHINE  STORIES 

PAGE  106.    For  the  story  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  see  Kingsley's 
"Greek  Heroes." 


OLE-LUK-OIE,  THE  DREAM  GOD 

PAGE  145.     Ole-Luk-Oie  (6'le  look'oi):   the  Danish  name  for  the 
sandman. 

ELDER-TREE  MOTHER 

PAGE  1 79.    Copenhagen  (ko  pen  ha'gen) :  the  capital  of  Denmark. 

Fredericksburg  (fred'er  fcks  burg) :    twenty-one    miles   from 
Copenhagen;  the  summer  residence  of  the  royal  family. 


THE  SNOW  QUEEN 

FOURTH  STORY 
THE  PRINCE  AND   PRINCESS 

PAGE  217.  Children  have  a  kind  of  language,  or  gibberish,  which 
is  sometimes  called  crows'1  language.  It  is  formed  by  adding 
letters  or  syllables  to  every  word. 


[300] 


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